The face has 98 muscles and Jensen Ackles in the role of Dean Winchester uses every one of them to perfection.  Jensen is an incredibly talented actor and, whether he is in funny or serious mode, the facial expressions of Dean Winchester can really brighten up my day. For the winter hiatus, I thought a collection of Dean-expressions would help fill the absence of Supernatural for a while.  These were fun to put together and just a little fluff to hold us over till January 6th.

For a little science lesson, it takes 37 muscles to frown, and 22 muscles to smile. So smiling conserves energy, and should be used as often as possible.  One thing we don't see a lot of on Supernatural is smiling but it does occur occasionally, so here are some nice Dean smiles to enjoy.    And yeah, for some of these, I had to go all the way back to the pilot!

Of course there is this type of smile too, which is more the "The cat that ate the canary" smile. 

And then there is the glazed over, wide-eyed smile he gets when confronted with an attractive member of the opposite sex, usually with a voluptuous bosom.  We DEFINITELY need more of this smile!

Now that we have covered the most important facial muscles, what does the remainder of those 98 muscles do?  Some of the most elaborate expressions on TV.

For instance here is the "Caught, but won't admit it" face used to ascertain innocence to bad guys and cops.  Also to deny acknowledgement that Sammy's point of view is right.  

Not to be confused with the  "Really? I don't believe a word of it" face.  Love this look in Dean.  Wish we could see more of it too.    

This is the "I am so frustrated at Sammy, I could scream" face.  Love these the most!  GREAT expressions from Sam too!

And here are the funniest "confused" expression I've seen.

 

Here is "The gig is up" face.  

Not to be confused with the "Chipmunk" face.  Dean has a lot of food faces but this is my favorite.  You know, Jared looks like he is REALLY trying to suppress a smile here.  I wonder how many times they had to redo this take because Jared DID roar!  Who could blame him if he did?  

And then there are the faces that are simply to make us smile, thereby conserving energy, of course!

Unfortunately there are faces that make us cry too.

Let's not forget "Singing" Dean either.   How about his rendition of Asia in "Mystery Spot"

...or his performance of REO Speedwagon.  Love the crinkle nose effect.

Then there is Dean singing "Wanted Dead or Alive."

And who can forget Jensen's legendary interpretation of "Eye of the Tiger" during "Yellow Fever"

Dean does "Fear" better than anyone I know, and out and out terror fantastically.

Classic Dean is the "WTF?" face.  Oh, he has SOOOO many but these are my favorites.

And his anger can have a definite comic tone to it...sometimes.

Now, this I call the "Han Solo" look.  Ok, I didn't just do the face here but hey, it SO gives new meaning to the concept of "cool" Dean.  Guns and the impala work too!

Of course there is the Han Solo in carbonite also.  All okay Dean? 

Let's not forget the James Dean aspect of Dean either, leather and all.

And we certainly can't forget the "HOT, HOT, HOT" look.

Let's see now...how would you describe these?

Oops, diverging here.  Must stick to faces only. (Smile)

As for these...well, words just fail me.

I could go on, but I guess you get the picture. 

The character of Dean Winchester is one of the most expressive ones on TV today as far as I'm concerned, and that is thanks to the talented actor who brings the character to life every week.  No matter how comical or serious the script, Dean will always have the sweet little boy mystique that makes him so endearing to his fans and that is all part and parcel of the personality of the actor who portrays him.  Hats off to Jensen Ackles for the great job he does each week, and may we have many more photos of funny faces to treasure in seasons to come.