Funnily enough, that particular factor began before Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles were even cast in the series. Though both actors showed up expecting to see a massively crowded waiting area filled with dozens of other actors looking to score the parts, it turned out it was just the two of them. As Padalecki shared during a fan Q&A, the two soon began bonding over their similarities. They quickly found out that they were both from Texas, both loved the Dallas Cowboys, and that they also shared a fondness for country music. Hilariously, they only bonded further when they realized that they had shown up to read for different roles, meaning they weren’t competing with one another either.

“So, where’s everybody else?” Ackles recalled asking Padalecki. “Where are the other 10 actors who are fighting for this job, fighting for this role? And no one ever showed up,” he concluded. The two went on to reminisce about their first time performing together as Sam and Dean in front of 30 Warner Bros. executives shortly thereafter, an experience which was no doubt very intense.

Still, as the two “Supernatural” stars spoke about their first experience on the series, their easy chemistry remains present to this day, with the two regularly teasing each other and joking around in a brotherly manner. Naturally, if the seeds of this bond were already there the first time they performed together, it’s no wonder they were cast for the roles, even if no one else bothered to show up.