"Supernatural" actor Jared Padalecki received an overwhelming and emotional surprise from his fans during the press panel for the hit CW series, which is now on its eleventh season, at Comic-Con 2015.
Inquisitr detailed that the actor has struggled with depression and it was only made known to the public in early summer. In his interview with Vanity Fair, it was during production of the third season of "Supernatural" when he was diagnosed of the condition.
"A doctor came to set and talked to me for about 30 minutes or 45 minutes and said, 'Jared, I think you're clinically depressed. I think I should write you a note and we can shut down production for five days and then we can take it from there,'" the actor revealed.
Despite the doctor's recommendation, he resumed working the next day and became busy with production and commitments, instead of following the physician's advice to take a breather for five days. The actor and his representatives theorized that his hectic schedule was the culprit and that it finally overpowered him in May, just in time for the start of his annual summer convention guestings.
For this reason, 7,000 adoring fans of the show united together to praise the actor, who fearlessly admitted his fight with depression.
According to Daily News, members of the audience were given a lite candle with a note that said, "Everyone is given a candle that burns just for them. When your flame flickers and you fear it will go out, know not even the strongest wind lasts forever; and there are other lights to guide you even in the Darkness...And when your candle burns bright, you can ignite the hearts of others and hope will spread like wildfire...Always Keep Fighting, and you'll never fight alone."
Toward the end of the panel came the signal to light the candle in support of Padalecki's "Always Keep Fighting" advocacy, which he started to aid people struggling with self-injury, suicide, addiction and depression.
Padelecki told E! News, "I'm holding the candle in my pocket right now, I can't let go of it. At first I didn't know what it is. I thought people were holding up their iPhones or something. And then someone handed me the note explaining it and I found out what was really going on. It took everything in my power not to cry."
The actor then shared a message to the fans: "I just want to say thank you, so much. "It's stuff that I have dealt with and I'm still dealing with so it means so much to me. I hope the fans feel support from me the way I feel support from them. I love them all very much. I really do. Fight for each other. Love each other. Always keep fighting."
Dabbing on a tear, Padalecki added, "I'm so humbled. With the 'Always Keep Fighting' campaign, it feels a lot like it's grown into something bigger than I ever could have imagined. And it's the same with the show, and this character and guys I've been working with for 11 years now. It's so cool and so, so humbling. I feel like I'm the old guy here! I've been here for 11 years doing Comic-Con but it's such a cool experience. I mean, this is what I dreamed of as a kid. I am so, so humbled."
View from stage. #ComicCon pic.twitter.com/aIy04Cf6ak
— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) July 12, 2015
