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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.
Well I haven't come far with my page this week but here are some pics that I defenetly think are very cute!
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