Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys has gone on to become one of Prime Video's most successful television shows. First screening in July 2019, the series is a superhero property like no other. It follows an eponymous group of vigilantes determined to bring down egomaniacal Homelander and the company that created him, Vought International.
Originally intended to be a trilogy of movies, The Boys was eventually developed into a television series by Eric Kripke. The showrunner is no stranger to creating a hit TV show, having previously devised spooky juggernaut, Supernatural, which lasted for an impressive 15 seasons.
Over Supernatural’s 327-episode run, hundreds of actors appeared in the show, and so it is no surprise that there has been some overlap. Since The Boys began, Supernatural fans have been treated to a raft of cameos, and for the fifth and final season, Kripke is bringing out the big guns. An announcement was made at the end of 2025 that both Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins, aka Sam Winchester and Castiel, had been cast. Their roles have yet to be disclosed, but Kripke confirmed that the duo will share screentime with another former Supernatural star, Jensen Ackles. So, it looks like Sam, Dean and Cas will be reunited once more.
There are, of course, far more actors than just these three who have appeared on both shows. From heavy hitters to supporting roles, The Boys is littered with Supernatural alumni. To save you the anguish of trying to figure them out for yourselves, here’s a handy guide of all those that crossed over, listed in the order that they made their The Boys debut.
Nathan Mitchell - Kelvin / Black Noir
It didn’t take The Boys long to begin recycling Supernatural cast members, and one was present right from the very first episode, ‘The Name of the Game’. Despite staring fans in the face from the outset however, actor Nathan Mitchell has likely passed viewers by, namely due to him playing the forever clad in a mask, Black Noir. Mitchell had a two-episode arc on Supernatural, playing one of Castiel’s few angelic allies, Kelvin.
While that role was fairly small, his involvement on The Boys as Black Noir has been more prolific. Black Noir is a member of Vought’s most darling of supes, ‘the Seven’, and is a rare friend of Homelander. In addition to never revealing his face, Black Noir doesn’t speak, so Supernatural fans can be forgiven for not connecting the dots.
Christian Keyes - Michael / Nathan
As Supernatural progressed, it went from being a story of two brothers searching for their missing father to something more Biblical. The arrival of Angel Castiel during the fourth season opened up the lore. Supernatural quickly became fixated on the dynamic of archangel brothers Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. These angels inhabited a variety of human vessels, with Christian Keyes being one of Michael’s during a visit to Apocalypse World.
The brotherly theme continued for Keyes in The Boys, where he plays Nathan, the coach and brother of speedster A-Train, one of the elite Seven. Nathan arrived during the show’s third episode, ‘Get Some’, and although a supporting character, Nathan has been pivotal in the advancement of A-Train’s arc. Nathan’s former frustration with his brother’s lying and showboating looks set to change during the final season now that A-Train appears to be Team Starlight.
Kai Bradbury - Casey / Young Kenji Miyashiro
Before going on to star in 35 episodes of Virgin River, actor Kai Bradbury was a key component in the creation of some of The Boys’ most important lore. Appearing through flashbacks in the sixth episode of Season 1, ‘The Innocents’, viewers were treated to an insight into Kimiko’s past. In addition to meeting a young Kimiko, there was the introduction of her brother, Kenji. Before that, during the earlier years of his career, Bradbury had a very minor role as a clerk named Casey on Supernatural.
Alvina August - Tasha / Monique Milk
During the penultimate episode of the first season of The Boys, ‘The Self-Preservation Society’, the audience was given a glimpse into the personal life of Mother’s Milk when it introduced his wife, Monique. For that appearance, the character of Monique was played by Alvina August, who Supernatural fans should recall as having played the titular Tasha Banes in the Season 12 episode, ‘Twigs and Twine and Tasha Banes’. Although the character of Monique has continued to be a part of The Boys, her subsequent appearances have been played by actress Frances Turner.
Jim Beaver - Bobby Singer / Secretary of Defence Robert A. Singer
In Supernatural, former Deadwood actor Jim Beaver played the beloved surrogate father to Sam and Dean, Bobby Singer. The bourbon-drinking hunter with a proclivity for calling others ‘Idjits’ was a firm fan favourite, and his arrival in The Boys was met with cheers of delight. Beaver’s entrance in season one’s closing episode, ‘You Found Me’, had him playing the Secretary of Defence.
An extra point of fun is that his The Boys character was nearly identically named as Robert Singer. His name wasn’t strictly a nod to his Supernatural character, however, as Bobby himself was inspired by a real-life Robert Singer, who was one of Supernatural’s executive producers and directors.
Isaiah Adam - Forensic Tech / Lance Corporal Dan Miller
In contrast to Jim Beaver’s obvious-to-spot appearance, the next actor in the Supernatural / The Boys shared universe was much harder to spot, having had much smaller roles on both shows. Isaiah Adam starred in Supernatural fleetingly as a Forensic Tech in the Season 7 episode, ‘Hello, Cruel World’, but was fractionally more prominent in The Boys, where he played Lance Corporal Dan Miller, a soldier who posed with Homelander and Queen Maeve during the season two opener ‘The Big Ride’. Outside of these two shows, Adam’s most notable credit is a three-episode stint on The Expanse.
Adrian Holmes - James Turner / Dr Park
Originally, actor Adiran Holmes had a brief stint as a generic demon in Supernatural before going on to be cast as James Turner. James was the son of Sam and Dean’s psychic friend, Missouri (played by the excellent Loretta Devine). The character initially clashed heads with Dean Winchester, but ultimately the two became friends. Holmes was then called upon to play the role of Dr Park in The Boys’ season two episode, ‘Proper Preparation and Planning’. Holmes is proof that sometimes being a background actor is the perfect way to get your foot in the door.
Lesley Nicol - Katja / Connie Butcher
Perhaps better known for playing Mrs Patmore across Downton Abbey, actress Lesley Nicol took on the role of Butcher’s mother in the penultimate episode of the show’s second season. The episode, entitled ‘Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker’, gave a rare peek into Butcher’s family life as Connie sought to inspire a reconciliation between her son and his father. In Supernatural, Nicol played Katja, the witch from the fable of Hansel and Gretel, who was eventually shoved into an oven by the Winchester brothers.
Jensen Ackles - Dean Winchester / Soldier Boy
When it comes to having Supernatural stars in your TV show, they come no bigger than Dean Winchester himself, Jensen Ackles. Except for the odd demonic or angelic possession or two, Dean was always a hero, and fans were dubious as to whether he could sell the villainous Soldier Boy. Any worries were immediately quelled when the character arrived on screen during Season 3’s second episode, ‘The Only Man in the Sky’, where his ego and aggression were plain to see.
Riffing off of Marvel’s very own Captain America (a role which Ackles came close to playing), Soldier Boy was the first ‘superhero’ in Vought history and set the template that all subsequent supes would follow. During his time on The Boys, Soldier Boy has played for both sides, and although previously thought to be dead, was revealed at the end of season four as being very much alive. Ackles will return in the role for the final season (and that epic Supernatural reunion as well as The Boys prequel, Vought Rising.
Alexander Calvert - Jack / Rufus
Although technically Alexander Calvert has yet to appear in The Boys, his character of Rufus has been a recurring character across both seasons of the sister show Gen V. In Supernatural, he was the young and innocent Nephilim son of Lucifer, Jack. The character quickly won over audiences, which was certainly not the case for fratboy walking redflag of toxic masculinity Rufus.
Unlike The Boys, there are far fewer Supernatural stars on the Gen V roster, most likely because it features a younger cast of characters, but should Gen V return, it would be nice if Kripke could get some familiar faces attached. Osric Chau (who played Prophet Kevin Tran) would be a great addition.
Jeffery Dean Morgan - John Winchester / Joe Kessler
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of those actors who is known to different fandoms for different reasons. To The Walking Dead fans, he is Negan, for lovers of the movie Watchmen, Morgan is the dastardly Comedian, and to Grey’s Anatomy stans, he was charming heart transplant patient Denny. In Supernatural, he played Sam and Dean’s daddy, John Winchester, a character whose disappearance spurred his sons onto their fifteen-year mission.
Despite only starring in a handful of episodes, the presence of John / Morgan was felt throughout, and so when he landed on screens in The Boys, fans were overjoyed. His role of Joe Kessler was confined purely to scenes involving Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, but knowing that he and Jensen would have shared a set was enough to keep the Supernatural homefires burning.
Rob Benedict - Chuck / Splinter
When fans of Supernatural sat down to watch The Boys episode, ‘Life Among the Septics’, during the fourth season, they were left screaming, ‘Oh my God!’ The episode features one of the craziest sequences in which Benedict’s character, Splinter (who can make copies of himself), is seen having intimate relations with himself.
The ‘Oh my God’ sentiment from most viewers was because of how depraved the scene gets, but there was an extra layer of meaning to Supernatural fans as, during the course of the show, the author Chuck was revealed to – SPOILERS – actually be God. Although his time on The Boys was brief, there is no doubt that Benedict’s appearance left a lasting impression.
