‘Dawson’s Creek’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Twenty years ago this January, Dawson’s Creek premiered on The WB.

The American teen drama revolved around the lives of a close-knit group of friends through high school and college. With six seasons and 128 episodes the series is one of the most celebrated teen dramas in television.

The series launched the careers of its stars, many of them still working on television and critically-acclaimed movies.

So, where have the stars of the hit teen drama been since the show came to an end in 2003.

Scroll through and find out where the stars of Dawson’s Creek are now.

James Van Der Beek

James Van Der Beek played the lead role of high school student and aspiring filmmaker Dawson Leery.

After his parents’ divorce and his own relationship drama, Dawson went on to become the executive producer and chief writer of a television show based on his own experiences in Capeside, Massachusetts.

Today, Van Der Beek can be been playing Diplo in the Vice series What Would Diplo Do? He also made a cameo appearance in an episode of HBO’s Room 104 and will have a role in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming series Pose.

Katie Holmes

Perhaps the biggest start to come out of Dawson’s Creek was Katie Holmes.

A relatively unknown when she was cast as Joey Potter, the girl next door who falls head over heels for Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek). Her character eventually fell for bad boy Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson). By series’ end, Joey becomes a junior editor living in NYC with her writer boyfriend, Christopher (Jeremy Sisto).

Today, Katie shares daughter Suri with ex-husband Tom Cruise. She recently starred as Jackie Kennedy in The Kennedy’s Rise and Fall, Logan Lucky and All We Had, which she also directed and executive produced. 

Holmes is also set to be a part of the all-star cast of the upcoming Ocean’s 8, also starring Anne Hathaway and Cate Blanchett. 

Michelle Williams

Sent to the town of Capeside, Massachusetts after reckless behavior in her hometown of New York, Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) eventually loved life in the small town. 

After helping pal Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) come out of the closet, she reluctantly applied to college and dated Charlie (Chad Michael Murray) and C.J. (Jensen Ackles). Her character, a single mother, passed away at 25 due to a fatal heart condition in the series finale.

Williams went on to play Oscar-nominated roles in Brokeback Mountain (2005), Blue Valentine (2010), My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Manchester by the Sea (2016). She has also received high praise for her role in 2017’s All the Money in the World.

 

Joshua Jackson

Joshua Jackson rose to fame playing the role of bad boy Pacey Whitter. Jackson’s character stepped out of his cop brother’s shadow and became the owner of The Icehouse, a successful restaurant in Capeside, Massachusetts.

Following the end of Jackson’s hit series Fringe in 2013, the actor took on a leading role in Showtime’s The Affair. The show’s fourth season is set to air later this year.

Mary-Margaret Humes

Mary-Margaret Humes is best known for playing the role of Gail Leery, Dawson’s mother. 

Her acting credits include roles in series like Grey’s Anatomy, The Dukes of Hazzard, Matlock, Knight Rider, Murphy Brown, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Hardcastle and McCormick, T.J. Hooker, Riptide, and Touched by an Angel.

Her latest acting credit was playing the role of Maggie DeJesus in the film Christmas Crime Story.

John Wesley Shipp

John Wesley-Shipp is most prominently known for playing Barry Allen in the CBS 1990 series The Flash, but he was also in the role of Mitch Leery, Dawson’s dad. 

The actor stayed on the teen drama until 2001, where he went on TV shows like Drop Dead Diva, Teen Wolf and One Life To Live. 

He most recently played double duty on The CW’s version of The Flash playing the roles of Dr. Henry Allen, Barry’s (Grant Gustin) father, as well as alternate universe Flash, Jay Garrick. 

 

Mary Beth Peil

We can’t forget about Grams. 

Alongside the four main young stars of Dawson’s Creek, Mary Beth Peil was the only actress to appear as a credited regular throughout the show’s six-season run, making an appearance in 74 of 128 episodes.

Peil was nominated for a Tony Award for her role as Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in Anastasia. Peil is also prominently known for playing the role of Jackie Florrick – Juliana Margulies’ Alicia Florrick’s eccentric mother-in-law – in CBS’ The Good Wife. 

Nina Repeta

Nina Repeta played the role of Bessie Potter. Bess is a single mother most of the series and the older sister of Joey Potter (Katie Holmes).

Most of her acting credits are in productions shot, as Dawson’s Creek was, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Among them are Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Matlock. Her first screen appearance was in the 1994 film Radioland Murders.

Her latest acting credit was for the role of Blue-Blood Woman for the TNT series Good Behavior in 2017, according to IMDB. 

 

 

Kerr Smith

Kerr Smith’s Jack McPhee broke boundaries in network television when the character came out in a powerful storyline for the teen drama. 

Jack McPhee’s first kiss was also the first time a network television series showed a same-sex kiss, a big leap forward at the time. 

Smith has had many prominent television roles including Kyle Brody in The WB supernatural drama Charmed, as well as in movies as Axel Palmer in My Bloody Valentine 3D and Carter Horton in Final Destination.

Most recently Smith had a regular role on The CW’s shortlived drama Life Unexpected, and has appeared on series like The Fosters, Stalker and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Meredith Monroe

Meredith Monroe played the role of Andie McPhee, Jack’s (Kerr Smith) high strung and passionate sister. 

Her drive can, at times, take on a ‘tunnel vision’ intensity and she can be a bit ruthless to the people around her.

After Dawson’s Creek, Monroe had acting credits in guest appearances on television series like The Mentalist, Hawaii Five-0, Hart of Dixie, The Closer, NCIS: Los Angeles and Castle. 

Her latest acting credit came in 2016, when she played the role of Greer on The Edge of Seventeen, according to IMDb.