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It Boy Jared Padalecki
By Dina Sansing

Don't squeeze this Gilmore Guy's butt. 

Psst! It's Jared Padalecki's first time. He's a little nervous, very excited and so eager to please. Ok, so it's 19 year-old Gilmore actor's first magazine shoot- and fitting that it's with seventeen. Just over two years ago, Jared won our Claim to Fame contest and went to Hollywood to be a presenter at the seventeen sponsored 1999 Teen Choice Awards (TCA). There he wowed Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s manager, who helped Jared land the role of romantic Dean on the WB's Gilmore Girls. Last summer, Jared returned to the awards show as a celebrity presenter. "It's amazing where I was then and where I am now," he says. "Now I have 'people' working for me, I'm in seventeen and I'm on TV every Tuesday!" And the rising star also has fans, which was very apparent at last year's TCA. "On the way to my seat, I was nearly mauled and some girl grabbed my butt!" Jared says in a Texas drawl, which he drops for Girls. But that's not the way to win his heart. So what is? "You have to get along with my friends. Playing Nintendo is a big plus, and you must love The Simpsons."