Jared Padalecki has portrayed several characters over the years, including Dean Forester of Gilmore Girls and Sam Winchester of Supernatural. His newest role as Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger, is an exciting new role for the actor, and certainly a big leap from Sam Winchester. Sam is definitely one of Padalecki's best roles, and is dearly missed by Supernatural fans.
Sam was kind and empathetic, and he had a strong bond with his older brother, Dean. Walker, meanwhile, is a Texas Ranger and struggling to connect with his family after having been away on a long undercover assignment. These two roles are polar opposites of one another, and both roles are two of Jared Padalecki's best roles, for different reasons.
Sam: His And Dean's Relationship
One of the things that fans love about Sam is his relationship with Dean. Dean has taken care of Sam his entire life, and would do anything for his little brother, even if it meant going to Hell himself. Walker has a brother, Liam, in Walker, but it will never be the same as Sam and Dean. Their sibling relationship was very rare, and one that drew audiences towards Supernatural. Sam's relationship with Dean had lots of ups and downs, but when it came down to it, he loved his brother and would do anything for him, and vice versa.
Walker: It Sees Padalecki In A Very Different Role
Padalecki's Cordell Walker is a very different role compared to Sam Winchester. Walker is a father of two teens, has recently lost his wife, and the people he goes after are people, not supernatural monsters. Audiences are currently watching Walker dig into the circumstances of his wife's murder, do his job as a Texas Ranger, and try to make amends and rebuild his relationships with his children. Padalecki's roles on Gilmore Girls and Supernatural didn't find him in a role such as this; it gives him new ground to cover in Texas, which also happens to be Padalecki's real-life home state.
Sam: Padalecki Had The Opportunity To Make Sam Whatever He Wanted Him To Be
One of the big differences between Padalecki's roles of Walker and Sam is this: Walker comes with a history, having previously been portrayed by Chuck Norris on the '90s series Walker, Texas Ranger. However, with Sam Winchester, he was a brand-new character, having never been played by anyone else.
Taking on the role of Walker certainly had to come with pressure and expectations to live up to Chuck Norris's portrayal, but with Sam, he had a little more freedom to explore the character, with audiences having no other point of reference to imagine the character.
Walker: Audiences Get To See Padalecki Onscreen With His Real-Life Wife Again
Genevieve Padalecki plays Walker's late wife, Emily, on Walker. Supernatural fans recognize Genevieve for her role as Ruby, a demon, in the series. She and Sam were briefly together, and she was responsible for getting him addicted to demon blood, and she later betrayed him big time. While Ruby and Sam's relationship wasn't really love and was clearly dysfunctional, Emily and Walker are a very different couple, obviously candidates of true love, which makes Emily's loss that much more devastating. Sam was known for his bad luck when it came to relationships, but Walker clearly has a more successful relationship history.
Sam: He's A Complex Character
Sam had been through a lot in the fifteen years that audiences watched him onscreen. Having a problem with demon blood, spending time in Hell, going up against villains like Lilith and Lucifer, and going through countless tragedies made him strong, but it also burdened him heavily. Sam didn't always deal with his problems, but he kept moving forward, ready to fight the next threat that came along. The complexities and uniqueness of a character like Sam makes him stand out, and has clearly made him a fan-favorite, which makes Sam a significant role for Padalecki.
Walker: Different Dynamics and Personality
Sam was known for his sensitivity, patience and kindness. He was better at relating to others and showing more compassion and understanding than Dean, and Dean often teased his brother for it. Walker is another story entirely; he struggles with connecting with his family following the loss of his wife and he's not always up front and honest, especially where it concerns his previous work undercover.
He may not have the amount of sensitivity that Sam does, but he tries, and he has his moments of intuitiveness and understanding.
Sam: He Grew Up A Lot During Supernatural's Run
When audiences first met Sam, he was a law student at Stanford, fully independent of the "family business." He wanted to marry Jess and live a normal life, free of monsters and pain. However, he's shoved back into the hunting life after Jess's death, and never really gets out of it completely, though he did get some semblance of a normal life by the series finale, given he was shown to have a son. In the fifteen years Supernatural was on the air, it provided Padalecki with the fun and rare opportunity to explore Sam's character arc to the fullest; Sam truly grew up over the course of the series, and was a completely different person by the time the series finale came about.
Walker: Padalecki Is Taking On A Famous TV Role And Putting His Own Spin On It
Obviously, Padalecki can't play the role of Walker the exact same way as Chuck Norris. There's only one Chuck Norris, after all, and the reboot wouldn't be much of a reboot if everything was the same as the original. That said, though Padalecki is dealing with a role that already has fans attached, and with those fans come expectations, Padalecki gets to recreate a beloved role and introduce it to new audiences.
Sam: He's A Big Part Of The SPN Family
One of the best things to come out of Supernatural was the family it created. The show became more than a show; it became a family for the cast, crew, and audiences alike.
It's a community, and it's rare for such an inspirational, loving community such as the Supernatural family to come from a TV show. It's one of the things that made the show that much more special, and shows why Sam was one of Padalecki's greatest roles.
Walker: He Deals With More Real-Life Struggles
Most of Sam Winchester's struggles, like losing his family and then watching them come back to life, fighting monsters such as vampires and werewolves, and going to Hell are not relatable for audiences. However, Cordell Walker deals with more real-life struggles, which presents a different set of obstacles for Padalecki's newest character to overcome. Walker is not only looking into his wife's murder, but he's struggling with being home once again, and trying to get through to his kids, especially his daughter, who has harbored anger towards him for some time. Walker dealing with struggles opposite of Sam's gives Padalecki a new direction to take the character in, and audiences are looking forward to seeing how Walker develops, especially since the series has been renewed for a second season.