Micha Collins and his character Castiel are loved by fans of the Supernatural series, although he was only supposed to be there for 3 episodes.
Who is it about? The angel “Castiel” in Supernatural has become an enormously important character in the storyline of the series over the years and a real fan favorite.
Played by American actor Micah Collins, the Servant of God first came into action in the fourth season premiere (“Lazarus Rises”). Ever since, he’s been known equally for his confused, alien, and monotonous demeanor, as well as his beige trench coat and crooked tie.
Especially to Dean (Jensen Ackles), Castiel built up a brotherly relationship over the course of the seasons and is not only a great help to the main characters, but also a good friend.
In May 2023, Micha Collins guest-starred on the English-language podcast Supernatural Then and Now, co-hosted by Robert “Rob” Benedict (in Supernatural: Chuck) and Richard Speight Jr. (in Supernatural: The Trickster/ Gabriel). On the podcast, Collins spoke about his early days on Supernatural, how certain character traits came about in Castiel, and the plans that existed for his role.
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Castiel wasn’t meant to be a long-term character
Why would he leave Supernatural? On the podcast, Collins was asked how Jared Padalecki (Sam) and Jensen Ackles (Dean) felt towards him when he was first involved in filming Supernatural. Collins then revealed that he was originally only cast for three episodes and that’s why they didn’t pay much attention to him. The character Castiel wasn’t supposed to be in the series for as long as it ended up being.
I didn’t matter. Originally I was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and they had no idea, they didn’t even read the script we just shot. Little did they know the character was coming back. […] Little did they know they would be dealing with me in the future. So you haven’t laid a foundation.
Micha Collins via Supernatural Then and Now Collins asked the showrunner for a regular role
How did Castiel end up staying on the show? Another topic on the podcast was how Collins knew at the time if his character would be well received by fans. The actor then says he’s been scouring various websites and forums to read what fans of the series are saying about Castiel.
He realized that the angel was popular with the fans. At that point, the series creators had already written him into more and more episodes and it didn’t just stay with the originally planned three episodes.
Collins then called showrunner Erik Kripke and asked him outright if he shouldn’t be a “series regular,” making Castiel one of the recurring characters.
Towards the end of Season 4 I was like, ‘People really like this, and they keep bringing me back for new episodes. That’s great.” And that’s when I called Eric Kripke and said, “Hey, do you want to cast me as a regular on the show for next year?” And I felt like maybe I had enough storyline and maybe I had enough excitement about the have fans for the character to justify it. And to my amazement, he said, “Yeah, fine.”
Micah Collins via Supernatural Then and Now
Micha Collins’ suggestion was accepted and it was scheduled for the entire fifth season. Castiel was a recurring character for at least another year after that — and many more years to come.
Richard Speight Jr. illustrates how impressive and unusual Collins’ question to Erik Kripke was: “No actor ever does that. This is impressive. Nobody would call the showrunner and say, ‘Give me a contract.’ That’s incredible.”
Collins already shaped Castiel in the casting: Another highlight of the podcast episode is Collin’s account of how he inadvertently shaped Castiel’s character forever during casting.
Collins prepared to play a demon during casting. He was then told that the character was an angel and that he should adjust his performance accordingly. However, the actor did not expect this:
“It upset me,” he says, “I figured it’s basically the opposite. I was totally confused standing in the headlights.”
Collins described his behavior in the situation as saying that he seemed like someone who didn’t know what was going on. And this confusion should henceforth determine the appearance of Castiel. “Somehow that led to a very bizarre interpretation of the character and somehow it worked.”
The story of Sir Patrick Stewart and his iconic role as Captain Picard also shows that things don’t always go as planned in the world of television. The actor actually expected to be back home after half a year:
Captain Picard admits he only played in Star Trek because he thought it was going to be a horrible flop