Jeffrey Dean Morgan was struggling to make ends meet before he landed back-to-back breakout roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Supernatural.
Appearing on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast on Monday, August 10, the beloved actor reflected on trying to make it in Hollywood for 15 years before his longtime manager told him, “You’ve aged out, bro.”
“I was old. I was, I think, 38, maybe,” he recalled.
During that time, Morgan, now 60, was “always hustling,” doing odd jobs to sustain himself. “The problem was, I was in my mid-30s and I didn’t have an education and I didn’t know what else to do.”
After sticking it out for years, Morgan finally booked not one but three roles on Supernatural, Grey’s Anatomy, and Weeds.
“I went from an unknown nobody to I couldn’t leave my house,” he recalled.
Morgan played Denny Duquette on Grey’s Anatomy — a fan-favourite love interest of Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) — and the elusive Winchester patriarch on Supernatural.
“I was just so happy. I felt like, ‘Okay, even if I die in Grey’s… I was going to have a regular job,” he shared. “I could pay my rent.”
Morgan also went on to star in The Walking Deadas the iconic villain-turned-good-guy, Negan Smith.
He tied the knot with One Tree Hillstar Hilarie Burton in 2019 after 10 years together, and the pair welcomed two children together.
2026-08-11 20:25:00
