Dawson's Creek Cast: Where The Actors Are Now

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was no bigger teen series than "Dawson's Creek," which told the story of an average boy (albeit one with extremely high ambitions and an impressive case of main character syndrome) living in a small seaside town in New England, alongside his two best friends, Joey and Pacey. Their exploits — and ensuing love triangle — captured the attention of audiences everywhere, making Dawson a household name (and a meme, eventually), and forcing viewers to join up with either Team Dawson or Team Pacey. 

"Dawson's Creek" ran for six seasons on The WB, bear-hugging the dawn of the new millennium as it followed its band of teenagers from high school into college. Some of its main cast have gone on to become huge Hollywood stars, while others have faded into the background. They all made a huge impression on a generation of viewers. To learn all about what the cast of "Dawson's Creek" has been up to these days, don't wait (for our lives to be over) — read on.

Busy Philipps was a late addition to the cast of "Dawson's Creek," playing Joey's college roommate Audrey during Seasons 5 and 6, but her time on the show was no less impactful for being short-lived. She quickly becomes part of the central group of friends, even beginning a brief relationship with Pacey. By the time Philipps joined the show, she was coming off a lead turn on one of the best teen shows of all time, "Freaks and Geeks," which was sadly canceled after just one season. 

She's spent the majority of her career on television, with key roles on shows like "ER," "Love Inc," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," "Cougar Town," "Vice Principals," and "Girls5eva." She played Mrs. George (the cool mom) in the 2024 big-screen musical remake of "Mean Girls," and is currently the host of a late night talk show from QVC called "Busy This Week." Philipps is also a vocal advocate for abortion rights, speaking before the House Judiciary Committee on the subject in 2019.

Beginning in the second season of "Dawson's Creek," Meredith Monroe joined the cast as Andie McPhee, a sweet, well-intentioned overachiever who maintains a put-together exterior but is riddled with anxiety. She remained with the show through its third and fourth seasons, both of which saw her promoted to the main cast, and made a guest appearance in its final season.

Outside of "Dawson's Creek," Monroe has appeared in a number of films, including "Minority Report," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," and "The Edge of Seventeen," but like many of her costars, she's found greater success on television. In addition to one-off performances on shows like "CSI: Miami," "House," "The Mentalist," "Psych," and "S.W.A.T.," she played Haley Hotchner on "Criminal Minds" and Carolyn Standall on "13 Reasons Why." She currently has one project in pre-production, a science-fiction thriller entitled "Dark Light," which is also slated to feature fellow '90s star Ethan Suplee.

Dawson is very close to his father, Mitch Leery, which makes Mitch's relationship problems with Dawson's mother and his shocking death in a Season 5 car accident all the more impactful. While he was on the show, Mitch, played by John Wesley Shipp, was one of the most prominent adult characters and a voice of reason in the face of Dawson's not insignificant teen angst. After "Dawson's Creek" went off the air, Shipp continued to spend a lot of time on The WB's successor network, The CW. 

In addition to appearing on "Teen Wolf," he played a major role in the channel's DC television universe, known by some as the Arrowverse. He took on multiple characters on "The Flash," playing both Barry Allen's father Henry and a version of The Flash himself from a different branch of the multiverse. He was present in this role on not just "The Flash," but also "Arrow," "Supergirl," and "Stargirl."

On "Dawson's Creek," there's the teen cast, and there's the adult cast — but then there's also Nina Repeta as Bessie Potter, who's somewhere in the middle. She's the older sister and guardian of Joey, caught between being a parent and a sibling. As Bessie, she was a member of the main cast for the first two seasons before transitioning to a recurring role for the final two. "Dawson's Creek" was by far her biggest role, but she's continued acting since then, appearing in films like "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water." Her most recent role was in the horror film "The Black Phone," where she played Sally's mother.

Repeta has a son, Banks Repeta, who has had an impressive career as a child actor. He was featured in "Manhunt," "Uncle Frank," "Lovecraft Country," "The Black Phone," and "The Devil All the Time," before taking on the lead role in James Gray's "Armageddon Time" opposite Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, and Anthony Hopkins.

Dawson's mother is perhaps part of where he gets his entertainment industry goals from — Mrs. Leery is a popular personality on the local news. And although she makes a few mistakes as a parent and spouse over the seasons, she's there for Dawson when he needs her. Mrs. Leery is played by Mary-Margaret Humes, who began her career as a beauty pageant contestant, winning Miss Florida and landing third runner-up in Miss USA in 1975. 

She made her film debut a few years later, appearing in Mel Brooks' "History of the World: Part 1," but worked primarily in television throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After "Dawson's Creek" went off the air, she continued acting on the small screen, with appearances on "CSI: NY," "Grey's Anatomy," "Ghost Whisperer," "Criminal Minds," and "Luck." In recent years, Humes has been most commonly seen on the Hallmark Channel, where she is featured in a number of TV movies.

On "Dawson's Creek," Jack (Kerr Smith) seems to have everything. His family is wealthy, he's a handsome football player, and he has a close relationship with his sister, Andie. But his life completely changes when he realizes that he's gay, and the loving facade of his relationship with his father crumbles as he rejects Jack. Luckily, over the course of the series, one of the best TV tropes — the found family — plays out when he moves in with Jen (Michelle Williams) and Grams (Mary Beth Peil).

While "Dawson's Creek" was Kerr Smith's biggest credit, there are plenty of other films and television series where you can see the actor. He was a member of the main cast on the series "Life Unexpected" from 2010 to 2011, was featured on 10 episodes of the original "Charmed," played Callie's birth father on "The Fosters," and took on the role of Principal Holden Honey on "Riverdale," bringing his career on teen dramas full circle. In 2025, he starred in the TV movie "Silver Lake" as a psychic record store owner who helps the dead process their unfinished business.

Mary Beth Peil rounds out the adult cast of "Dawson's Creek" as Grams, Jen's deeply religious but increasingly open-minded grandmother whom she moves in with at the beginning of the series. Although they initially butt heads, their bond grows to become one of the most powerful elements of the entire show. Peil's on-screen debut didn't come until 1992 with a bit role in the rom-com "Jersey Girl," but she had been performing for decades by that point. 

Peil got her start as an opera singer, performing with the Metropolitan Opera National Company in the mid-1960s. From there she transitioned to theater, earning a Tony nomination for her performance as Anna in the 1985 Broadway production of "The King and I." (Peil received her second nomination 32 years later for her work as the Dowager Empress in "Anastasia" in 2017.) But although the majority of her work has been on the stage, she's also found time to act in film and television over the years — some of her best known work was in "The Stepford Wives," "Flags of Our Fathers," and "The Good Wife."

Although Joey is the prototypical girl next door to Dawson, and has been all her life, the first episode sees a new girl move in literally next door to Dawson. Dawson is immediately taken by her. This is Jen, who has relocated from New York City to live with her very religious grandmother, in the hopes that it will help her escape bad influences. Jen, played by Michelle Williams, marches to the beat of her own drummer. She also feels like an old soul trapped in the body of a teenager.

In the years following "Dawson's Creek," Williams has enjoyed an impressive career by any metric, starring in films like "Blue Valentine," "Brokeback Mountain," "Shutter Island," "The Greatest Showman," and "The Fabelmans." Without a doubt, Michelle Williams is one of the most critically acclaimed actors to come out of "Dawson's Creek." 

She has five Academy Award nominations to her name, and in 2019 she took home an Emmy for best lead actress in a limited series for her work as Gwen Verdon in "Fosse/Verdon." In 2016, she also received a Tony nomination for best actress in "Blackbird." Her most recent performance was in the Hulu limited series "Dying for Sex," where she played Molly Kochan, a woman who embraces her sexuality after receiving a devastating cancer diagnosis.

By the time Joshua Jackson was cast as Pacey, Dawson's goofy, underachieving best friend, on "Dawson's Creek," he was already a Hollywood veteran. During the early 1990s, he played the lead role of Charlie Conway in "The Mighty Ducks," a role he reprised for the franchise's two sequels. Even while he was acting on "Dawson's Creek," he found time to make a number of film appearances, including key roles in "Cruel Intentions," "Urban Legend," and "The Skulls." 

In the years since, Jackson has bopped back and forth between film and television, although his biggest successes seem to have been on the small screen. He starred in the science fiction drama "Fringe," "The Affair," "Little Fires Everywhere," "Dr. Death," and "Fatal Attraction." He's also tried his hand at theater: In 2018, he received critical acclaim for his performance as James Leeds in "Children of a Lesser God." Most recently, he was in "Doctor Odyssey," a medical drama set on a luxury cruise ship. That project was unfortunately canceled after just one season.

If you don't know Katie Holmes, you must have been living under a rock for the past few decades. She became an overnight star with her work as Joey Potter, the magnetic girl next door on "Dawson's Creek" around whom most of the romantic drama revolves. Throughout the '90s, Holmes also appeared in films like "Disturbing Behavior," "The Ice Storm," and "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" before transitioning into a career as an adult. Some of her best known projects are "First Daughter," "Batman Begins" (although she was replaced in "The Dark Knight" by Maggie Gyllenhaal), "Pieces of April," "The Giver," and "Logan Lucky." 

She's also made a few forays back into television: Holmes played Jackie Kennedy in "The Kennedys" and made appearances on "How I Met Your Mother," "Ray Donovan," and "Poker Face." Although she's taken a few hiatuses from her career to raise her daughter Suri from her high-profile marriage to Tom Cruise, she currently has a new project in the work — "Happy Hours." It's a film that she both wrote and directed, and which reunites her with her "Dawson's Creek" costar Joshua Jackson (reigniting romantic rumors from Team Pacey shippers along the way).

Although there are lots of characters in "Dawson's Creek," Dawson is the undisputed star of the show — it is his creek, after all. An aspiring teenage film director, Dawson survives the trials and turbulations of his high school years with his best friends Pacey and Joey by his side. For James Van Der Beek, the actor who played him, the role was a life-changing one. Although he had a few minor roles before taking on Dawson Leery and has worked fairly steadily since then, his career has been dominated by this performance. In the years since "Dawson's Creek" went off the air, Van Der Beek starred in several other television series, including "Mercy," "Don't Trust the B—- in Apartment 23," "CSI: Cyber," "Pose," and two incredibly harrowing episodes of "Criminal Minds." 

Although he is more prolific on the small screen, he's also worked on several films, most notably "Varsity Blues," "The Rules of Attraction," "Labor Day," and "Downsizing." In 2019, he appeared on Season 28 of "Dancing With the Stars," where he was paired with Emma Slater and finished in 5th place. Since 2023, Van Der Beek has been in treatment for stage 3 colorectal cancer, and has used his diagnosis as an opportunity to get the word out about crucial early detection practices.