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Get the facts about the four main characters!!!

Much like the experience of the character he portrays, James Van Der Beek's dedication and talent surfaced at an early age. A mild concussion sidelined his school football career and instead Van Der Beek found himself playing the lead role in a local children's theater production of "Grease." He fell in love with the theater and continued to perform locally. "Dawson reminds me of myself when I was 15," says Van Der Beek. "I grew up in a small New England town and vacationed on Cape Cod, where the show takes place, and we both come from loving, supportive homes. We also look alike," jokes the 20-year old actor. "Dawson and I were both very impassioned at an early age," explains Van Der Beek. "Dawson is a burgeoning film maker, whose overactive imagination and idealism sometimes make him oblivious. He's prone to rejecting reality for a more romantic scenario. He's a bit of an innocent and is frequently off in his own little world, all of which I can definitely relate to." When Van Der Beek was 16, his mother, noting his intense interest in performing, offered to support his aspirations by accompanying him on daily six-hour round trips into New York City, to test the waters. In spite of landing an agent and manager on their first trip into the city, Van Der Beek spent a year auditioning for commercials without much success. At 17, Van Der Beek was cast in the off-Broadway play written and directed by Edward Albee, "Finding the Sun." Juggling the long commute for rehearsals and performances during the play's limited three-month run while attending high school, Van Der Beek credits the play as the defining experience for him as an actor and still managed to finish the school year second in his class. After his off-Broadway debut, he went on to star in "Shenandoah" at the Goodspeed Opera House. His first screen performance occurred in the 1995 feature film ANGUS as an arrogant jock. Van Der Beek also appeared in the Miramax film, "I LOVE YOU...I LOVE YOU NOT with Claire Danes, and most recently in the independent feature film HARVEST. An excellent student, Van Der Beek received an academic scholarship to attend Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where he majored in English and Sociology and made the Dean's List. He is currently on a leave of absence while shooting DAWSON'S CREEK in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Michelle Williams, like her character Jennifer Lindley on DAWSON'S CREEK, is making the transition from big city to small town life. The 17-year-old actress moved from Los Angeles to Wilmington, North Carolina, the production location for the series. As Williams recounts, "It's quite a change from Los Angeles. It's beautiful and a nice pace for awhile, but at first it was a strange switch from the city and traffic. Having the experience of moving from a big city to a small town does make it easier to relate to Jen, however." Williams explains that her character "is an outsider coming to Capeside from a fast-paced New York lifestyle. Ostensibly she's come to help her strict grandmother care for her seriously ailing grandfather, but she's hiding a troubled past. More sophisticated and worldly than the other three teen characters, she's an old soul, having done a lot and grown up fast. I think a part of Jen is really looking to regain her innocence and lead the quintessential teenage life, and she wants to fit in with these more carefree kids. But there's another part of her that still longs for the city lights, taxi rides, bars and clubs. She made some mistakes, and got sent to Capeside by her parents in hopes that she'd begin to realize she should slow down and change her ways." While Williams may be a bit homesick for big city life herself, she is no stranger to the country, having grown up in an idyllic spot in Montana. After her family moved to San Diego, she took advantage of the proximity of Hollywood to explore an acting career, which quickly took off. At 16, after obtaining an accelerated high-school degree, she moved to Los Angeles full time to pursue her craft. Most recently, she portrayed Michelle Pfeiffer's daughter in Propaganda Films' A THOUSAND ACRES, starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jason Robards. Williams has also appeared in numerous theater productions. On television, she has won guest appearances on series including STEP BY STEP and HOME IMPROVEMENT, as well as roles in the television movies A MOTHER'S JUSTICE and KILLING MR. GRIFFIN. Her additional feature film credits include SPECIES, LASSIE and TIME MASTER. While living in Wilmington to shoot DAWSON'S CREEK, Williams enjoys reading as many books as she can in her spare time.

Born in Vancouver, 19 year-old Joshua Jackson spent his formative years in California, moving with his family back to Vancouver at the age of eight. It was there that he launched his professional career, appearing in a series of television commercials promoting tourism in British Columbia. While his family shuttled between Vancouver and California, Jackson also sang with the San Francisco Boys' Chorus. In describing his character, Pacey, Jackson admits, "Four years ago, I had similar issues to what Pacey is dealing with. We both grew up in a community-based atmosphere. He grew up in a much smaller town, which has its own limitations and benefits, but I grew up in a community where I knew everybody in the neighborhood, went to school with all the same kids and spent a decade of my life with the same people. Like Pacey, I also have an offbeat sense of humor and I enjoy laughing, having a good time and often get myself in trouble for it. But neither of us is mischievous for mischief's sake. Pacey's in his own world, doing his own thing, which unfortunately seems to offend a lot of people." Jackson continues, "Pacey's basically an outsider at school who also feels disconnected from his family. He's always been told he's a screw-up and isn't going to succeed, so he feels he can do anything he likes and has nothing to lose. He finds a group of friends that take him for what he is and both understand and appreciate his oddball quality. Pacey's also the odd man out in his family. His father is the sheriff of Capeside and his brother is a deputy. He is closer to his mother and sisters, but his sisters are off at school. Because of this family dynamic, Pacey is much more comfortable with women. I was raised among females; it was just me, my mom and my sister and I'm more comfortable being around women because of that, too." Unlike his DAWSON'S CREEK character, however, Jackson excelled at an early age. Landing his first feature-film role in Michael Bortman's CROOKE HEARTS for MGM/Pathe, Jackson's stage debut followed in 1991, when he played the lead role of Charlie in the Seattle production of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Since then, Jackson has appeared in such films as ANDRE THE SEAL, TOMBSTONE, DIGGER and MAGIC IN THE WATER, as well as all three of Disney's THE MIGHTY DUCKS features, portraying the coach's prodigy and the team's voice of reason, Charlie. Jackson has also recently completed principal photography for Bryan Singer's latest film, APT PUPIL, starring Ian McKellen and produced by Mike Medavoy. His recent television projects include two Showtime Contemporary Classics, ROBIN OF LOCKSLEY, based on the Robin Hood legend, and RONNIE AND JULIE, an updated version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Jackson has also appeared in CHAMPS, the DreamWorks/ABC series created and produced by FAMILY TIES producer Gary David Goldberg. As a regular on DAWSON'S CREEK, Jackson now lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, during production.

Eighteen-year-old Katie Holmes possesses an exceptional maturity much like Joey Potter, the character she portrays on DAWSON'S CREEK. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Holmes began acting in high-school theater productions in spite of a personal belief that acting careers couldn't be sustained living in the Midwest. "Toledo is a bit bigger than Capeside, (the fictional location of DAWSON'S CREEK), but there are similarities," she says. "I'm a small-town girl just like Joey. I wasn't the one that had the boys in high school. I was a little bit of a tomboy and also the youngest in my family, so I thought I knew everything. Like Joey, I made a lot of mistakes, but fortunately I haven't had the tragedy that she's experienced in her life." Her character, Joey Potter, is something of a tomboy. As Holmes explains, "Joey is a 15-year-old girl that uses a tough attitude as a guard because she's been through so much. She's been hurt so many times that she doesn't want to be vulnerable and put herself out there for everyone. She has to be tough. She lost her mom [to cancer] and her dad's in prison. She doesn't have the best reputation in town because her sister, Bessie, is pregnant by Bodie, her black boyfriend, and they all live together. Her relationship with Dawson has been the only stable thing in her life and now it's beginning to change." The stability and importance of friends played a significant role in Holmes' life as well when she choose to honor her commitment to friends and classmates by performing in the school production of "Damn Yankees" instead of going to Los Angeles on a callback from the producers and casting agents for DAWSON'S CREEK. Fortunately, the producers were able to reschedule the audition and Holmes won the role of Joey Potter. A captivating newcomer to the entertainment world, Holmes has experienced incredible success, landing major roles in both feature films and television projects while participating in only a handful of auditions. Her very first professional audition resulted in a plum role in the award-winning film, THE ICE STORM, directed by Ang Lee (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY). The film, which recently won the screenplay award from the Cannes Film Festival, stars Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Elijah Wood and Joan Allen and depicts the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Having graduated from high school, Holmes is now living in Wilmington, North Carolina while working on DAWSON'S CREEK. PEighteen-year-old Katie Holmes possesses an exceptional maturity much like Joey Potter, the character she portrays on DAWSON'S CREEK. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Holmes began acting in high-school theater productions in spite of a personal belief that acting careers couldn't be sustained living in the Midwest. "Toledo is a bit bigger than Capeside, (the fictional location of DAWSON'S CREEK), but there are similarities," she says. "I'm a small-town girl just like Joey. I wasn't the one that had the boys in high school. I was a little bit of a tomboy and also the youngest in my family, so I thought I knew everything. Like Joey, I made a lot of mistakes, but fortunately I haven't had the tragedy that she's experienced in her life." Her character, Joey Potter, is something of a tomboy. As Holmes explains, "Joey is a 15-year-old girl that uses a tough attitude as a guard because she's been through so much. She's been hurt so many times that she doesn't want to be vulnerable and put herself out there for everyone. She has to be tough. She lost her mom [to cancer] and her dad's in prison. She doesn't have the best reputation in town because her sister, Bessie, is pregnant by Bodie, her black boyfriend, and they all live together. Her relationship with Dawson has been the only stable thing in her life and now it's beginning to change." The stability and importance of friends played a significant role in Holmes' life as well when she choose to honor her commitment to friends and classmates by performing in the school production of "Damn Yankees" instead of going to Los Angeles on a callback from the producers and casting agents for DAWSON'S CREEK. Fortunately, the producers were able to reschedule the audition and Holmes won the role of Joey Potter. A captivating newcomer to the entertainment world, Holmes has experienced incredible success, landing major roles in both feature films and television projects while participating in only a handful of auditions. Her very first professional audition resulted in a plum role in the award-winning film, THE ICE STORM, directed by Ang Lee (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY). The film, which recently won the screenplay award from the Cannes Film Festival, stars Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Elijah Wood and Joan Allen and depicts the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Having graduated from high school, Holmes is now living in Wilmington, North Carolina while working on DAWSON'S CREEK.