Comic-Con Update: Fans Show Surprise Support for “Supernatural” Actor Battling Depression

Jared Padalecki rose to fame thanks to his part in the famous 2000s show Gilmore Girls but he owes his global recognition to the Warner Bros' fantasy horror series Supernatural. The show attracted millions of fans from all over the world and Padalecki and his co-star Jensen Ackles were able to build a big, passionate fanbase over the years.

On Sunday, July 12, Padalecki attended the Supernatural panel at Comic-con, where the heart of the entertainment world beat over the last weekend. There were more than 7,000 fans in the conference room when the panel moderators announced the start of the audience questions segment. All of a sudden, fans started lighting candles, paying tribute to Padalecki's fight with depression and showing support for actor's  "Always Keep Fighting" campaign dedicated to help individuals with mental illnesses, depression, addiction and suicidal thoughts, US Magazine reported.

Padalecki was overwhelmed with the support of the audience and said: "This is so touching and humbling and honoring. I don't have the proper words to say thank you or how humbled and honored and excited I am and keep it up, guys. Thank y'all so much."

US Magazine reports that the actor had talked openly about his fight with depression earlier last year: "I, in the past, have had my own struggles of not (being) so happy with where I am in life. Maybe a lot of people don't know this, but Season 3, we were shooting an episode, and I went back to my trailer to get changed and just kind of broke down," he said.

Padalecki said that a doctor visited him in his trailer after the incident, and made a diagnosis of clinical depression and advised him to take couple of days off work first. "There is no shame in having to fight every day, but fighting every day, and presumably, if you're still alive to hear these words or read this interview, then you are winning your war. You're here. You might not win every battle. There are going to be some really tough days. There might be several tough times in any given single day, but hopefully, this will help somebody to think, "This isn't easy; it is a fight, but I'm going to keep fighting," US Magazine reported.