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Dawson's Best Bud

by: Shep Morgan E! Online, March 2000

Dawson's best bud on growing pains, rowing pains and frenzied fans

In the early days of Dawson's Creek, no one would have guessed that screwball Pacey Witter had it in him to steal the girl and leave Dawson up his own creek. But that's exactly what's happened. The class clown has turned into a prince (with the help of a much hyped kiss), and Joshua Jackson has made his own transition to an object of teen obsession.

What does that mean for the 21-year-old actor? Screaming girls. Lots of 'em.

Jackson is tapping that teen-dream heat to fuel his big-screen career in The Skulls, a suspense thriller costarring fellow heartthrob Paul Walker. Until now, Jackson has played mostly smaller parts, in such films as Scream 2, Urban Legends and Cruel Intentions. This time around, he plays the lead role of Luke, a college student who's drawn into the dark and powerful world of an elite secret society. Once in, he finds that to get out, he may have to risk his life.

Although Jackson's tight-lipped about women (the only long-term relationship he'll admit to is with his dog Shumba), he let us in on other secrets, like his "pissing contest" with Walker and what it's like to finally be getting some face time with cutie Katie Holmes.

And, of course, how he handles those screaming girls.

Shep Morgan: Rumor has it there were tons of fans on the Skulls set.

Joshua Jackson: Actually the biggest day--the biggest fan day--was the first day, which was perfect for me because I show up on the set and they're like, "Okay, who is this kid from TV who thinks he's a star? Who does he think he is?"

We were filming like a block and a half from a high school, doing what's called a "process shot," where you are in a car mounted on a flatbed, and you just drive around the block all day. The first time we drove around the block, there were three or four girls. Next time, there were 10 girls, and eventually there were, like, 100 girls.

It became a mob scene, an exponential thing. Some were screaming, "Josh!" And some were yelling, "Pacey!" So, it kind of paved the way for me to have an attitude for the rest of the film. It's important for an actor to have his own space for his ego.

SM: With all those fans, it must be hard to live a normal life.

JJ: I can go out and not get recognized, or I can go out and get recognized all night, and I don't know why it happens sometimes and not others. The sum total of the fan experience for me really is, "Hey, fine job on the show, good job," or "Bad show, piss off." And, of course, I get a lot of, "Hey, Pacey." The reality of having someone scream at you when you walk down the street is still a little strange. When they start that, I'm thinking, like, Okay, but I'm a human being--I'm not Leonardo. I mean, we've seen lots of people go through their 15 minutes of fame, and I'm getting my 15 minutes.

SM: Kevin Williamson, the creator of Dawson's Creek, seems to think it's more than that. He has described you as a young Tom Hanks.

JJ: When someone compares a guy who has just started with a guy like Tom Hanks, who is kind of the seminal star for the last decade, that sets the bar a little high. But I think if people compare you, it's nice, and you appreciate it. Remember, I also have the situation where all of my embarrassing moments have been caught on camera. Like, my whole awkward stage is all documented for the world to see. It will be good for my kids to see when I'm older.

SM: The Skulls is about having the personal strength to stand alone. How do you feel about that?

JJ: I think everybody--no matter what position you are in life you are always being tempted to stray from your own ideals, from your own path. It's crucial that you don't wander--even though sometimes you succeed, and sometimes you fail. Given my own recent history, I can tell you there is all kinds of pressure to join and be one of the crowd and to sacrifice what it is you believe. It makes it much more difficult to walk your own path. But I think you have to try.

SM: Is there a secret society in your past?

JJ: I think everybody, including me, has had some experience with fraternities--good, bad or indifferent--but I didn't even know that these powerful secret organizations like the Skull and Bones existed until we started making this film.

SM: And what if you had a chance to join one: Could you resist?

JJ: I don't know whether I'd have the fortitude to make it through the rushing process, but if they could skip all the painful initiation stuff, I would definitely give it some thought. If someone said, "Hey, Joshua, we have the power to take care of you for the rest of your life. You can just do whatever you want," I might go, "All right, where do I sign?"

SM: Was there a lot in Luke, the poor but smart kid in the rich campus crowd, that you identified with?

JJ: We look pretty much the same, and we sound very similar. I always hear my mother talking when somebody asks me this question, because she hates it when actors start relating themselves to their characters. It just pisses her off. I would say that as human beings we're all the same jumble of emotions, so there's nothing in Luke that is foreign to me, but the emotions come out differently in him than they do me.

SM: Well, you can at least relate to Luke's rowing pains, right? Didn't you train for the part?

JJ: Yeah, and it was heavy-duty work. Actually, I'm smaller than the average crewman. I'm probably three inches too short and about 40 pounds light--these guys are six-five and 220 pounds, with 3 percent body fat. They are huge. I did it because I hate movies where a character is supposed to be doing something like rowing, and they cut from the actor to a stunt person who's really doing it and then back to the actor who's faking it, like, Oh, man, I'm really exerting myself here. I wanted to get it right.

SM: Next to the rowing, the rest of the film must have been a piece of cake.

JJ: Wrong. The whole film was an intense experience for me because I worked so hard. My feeling was the joy of exhaustion, if that makes any sense. The feeling of going home every night and knowing I had nothing left, that I was spent, just burnt out. The myth of moviemaking is that it's not work, that we all sit and have mai tais somewhere and a film magically appears. It's tons of work, and there's a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

SM: Speaking of hard work, you've been doing the daily grind on Dawson's for a while now. Do all those hours make you protective of how Pacey is written?

JJ: I wouldn't say protective. That's the difference between doing a film and working on a television series. On a film, you have a finite amount of space to tell a particular story. So, that character is locked from the first frame to the last frame once you start filming.

On a show like Dawson's Creek, the most interesting part is that Pacey keeps growing--he is going to make good choices and bad choices and develop. What you're learning at 16, you're progressing at leaps and bounds. So, I wouldn't say I'm protective--I'm curious. I am enjoying the ride. I don't want to inhibit the writers from being able to do anything because the fun is in doing different things.

SM: You must be having fun then, because some wild things have been happening to Pacey.

JJ: That's why I'm not usually the one to say I'm bored. Last season, I got to work with Meredith Monroe and our characters really truly fell in love for the first time, and I had a blast.

This season, we've had a tough time. We've had to deal with the loss of Kevin Williamson and a new staff of writers coming in and trying to kind of learn while they earn--basically coming in and emulating the voice of Kevin while simultaneously writing the show. We definitely have times where we have missed the mark.

That aside, I've had more of an opportunity to work with Katie Holmes, which is incredibly enjoyable. I think she is really one of the best actresses on the market right now. She forces you to bring your best stuff to the table, because if you don't, she just completely overpowers you.

SM: You, James Van Der Beek and Paul Walker are a few of the hottest young actors on the fast track to fame. Do you guys compete with each other?

JJ: There's inherent competition--even with guys I get along with really well, like Paul Walker. We still go out for the same jobs. There's still going to come a time where we both audition and he's going to get it or I'm going to get it. We're all competitive by nature. For a bunch of young actors, Hollywood is like a big pissing contest.