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Josh Jackson Q & A

TeenMag.com, March 2000

What can I tell you about Joshua Jackson that you don't already know? That he's smart and sweet and funny? That he has a unique charm that's a mix of self-confidence, a bit of cockiness, but with some shyness thrown in too?

And that he laughs a lot, he's super friendly and even better looking in person? Well, he is all that, and, as you'll see from the one-on-one we had with Josh earlier this month in New York, our very well-versed guy has a lot to say on a variety of topics.

Let's jump in...

Teenmag.com: Hi Josh! Well, first of all, let me tell you that I saw the movie last night and I loved it!

JJ: Thanks! (Laughing). That's a good way to start!

Teenmag.com: I also have to tell you that I'm a Dawson's Creek fan, and the episode with Pacey and Jonathan Lipnicki (from "Jerry Maguire") was excellent. Especially your scenes with Jonathan.

JJ: (Laughing) Thanks a lot. So, before we get into the whole business of "The Skulls," let me ask YOU a question... which side of the fence do you fall on in the Pacey/Joey debate?

Teenmag.com: Oh, TOTALLY pro Pacey and Joey! What about you?

JJ: Oh, I'm pro Joey and Pacey too, but (the writers) can't make up their minds right now whether they want to have Joey and Pacey get together or get Joey back with Dawson... so I'm lobbying for the pro-Pacey side.

Teenmag.com: Absolutely. Cast our vote for that side!

JJ: Cool!

Teenmag.com: O.K., so now to The Skulls... what's your "Cliff's Notes," quick description of the movie?

JJ: Like a "Reader's Digest" version? O.K., in ten words, it's an action-suspense thriller, with a young cast... (Josh laughs)... O.K., forget the ten words.

Teenmag.com: How would you describe your character, Luke McNamara?

JJ: He's a young, very focused, overachieving guy who is led through the looking glass. He's a guy who's been on the outside his entire life and is finally given the opportunity to get on the inside with the big boys, the money men.

Teenmag.com: You did your own crew racing for the movie, right?

JJ: Yep!

Teenmag.com: What all did you go through to prepare for that, because I have to tell you, you looked pretty buff, especially in those rowing scenes? It looked like you had done some serious working out.

JJ: (Laughs) I hadn't been working out so much as just practicing and (the muscles) just kind of happened by accident. But yeah, I tore up! I was a bad mo' fo' over the summer while we were filming. That was cool, and I felt all buff and strong... and then it all went away.

Teenmag.com: So you haven't kept up your rigorous routine?

JJ: No, it's so hard with work. Dawson's Creek shoots 10 months a year, so it's a grind. I usually reserve my weekends for sleeping. But for the crew training, I did four weeks of rowing every day and then on the weekends while we were filming I'd row twice a day.

Teenmag.com: It looks tough!

JJ: It is! It's an all-over kind of workout, and the guys who do this are incredible athletes. They kicked my butt while I was training! It's a very difficult sport, and I have a great respect for people who do this regularly and do it well.

Teenmag.com: Did you do any research into real life secret societies to prepare for the movie?

JJ: We did a lot of reading. I didn't actually get a chance to go to Yale (the movie was filmed in Toronto), but Rob (Cohen, The Skulls director) gave me some books and of course the Internet is a wonderful place to dig up stuff on conspiracy theories.

Teenmag.com: So from what you read, how much of the secret society stuff is real?

JJ: Well, that's the thing. We don't really know. The rituals that we show in the movie are actually watered down from what the real "Skull and Bones" society allegedly does, because we couldn't show the stuff that they supposedly do. So we tried to keep it as authentic as possible, given what we had read, but, ya know, it's a secret society, so they don't exactly publish their rules or anything.

Teenmag.com: But it's still pretty shocking, just what you can find out, right?

JJ: It's very shocking. The little bits of info that have leaked out over the years are extremely shocking. The level of power to which these men generally tend to ascend after their years at Yale is almost uniform and is pretty frightening. One of our presidential contenders (George W. Bush) is supposedly a Skull and Bones member.

Teenmag.com: You've talked about wanting to go to college yourself after Dawson's Creek... is that something you still want to do? Did doing a campus movie strengthen or change that desire at all?

JJ: It didn't really change my desire. For me, the desire exists less to get myself a degree than to just go and have the whole college experience, and throw myself into the brain pool and see if I can swim.

Teenmag.com: So you wanna do the whole thing: living on a campus, being a full-time student...

JJ: Yeah, why not? And I'd actually like to do it overseas. Because I've lived in North America for a long time, so if you're going to throw yourself into something new, you may as well go all the way and do something totally different.

Teenmag.com: What's up for your more immediate future? Do you see yourself doing another "action-thriller" kind of movie? Was that fun?

JJ: Yeah, it was. As a 21-year-old guy, the physical challenges are enjoyable. I mean, I enjoy getting into the physicality of a role... the getting knocked down and dragged around and beat up and all kinds of stuff, but I don't see myself as an action hero or anything. (Laughs)

Teenmag.com: So you don't see yourself saving the world or any of that?

JJ: No, I don't think I'll be stopping any meteors anytime soon, but if I'm given the opportunity, I'd like to try a little bit of everything. So if a good action movie came along, I would be more than happy to work on an action movie, if a good romantic comedy came along, I'd be more than happy to work on a good romantic comedy.

Teenmag.com: Is anything on the slate so far?

JJ: Nope. Not yet. I'm probably going to go on vacation this summer. We wrap on Dawson's Creek on April 12, so it's a little late in the game to plan a movie for this summer.

Teenmag.com: What are your vacation plans then?

JJ: I'm going to Europe and then I think I'm gonna go to Africa.

Teenmag.com: O.K., movie tie-in question: in The Skulls you have to spend time in the "truth cage," where the rule is that you have to answer any question honestly. So what's a "truth" about you that a lot of people might not know?

JJ: (Laughs) Uh, well, a lot of people don't know that I'm really a foreigner. I'm a Canadian (he says this while adopting a typical Canadian accent).

Teenmag.com: You're from Vancouver, right? Do you still spend a lot of time there?

JJ: When I'm not working. Any time I'm not working, I'm in Vancouver, but the last couple of years that hasn't been much.

Teenmag.com: Do you miss it?

JJ: Oh yeah! It's an unbelievable place. So beautiful. There's even a Vancouver version of Central Park, called Stanley Park. It's just basically a forest in the middle of the city. Very nice.

Teenmag.com: Another theme of The Skulls is that the characters are asked to do a lot of things in the name of friendship. What's the best thing a friend has ever done for you?

JJ: Just be my friend. I can be a real pain in the ass, so friends that have stuck with me this far, I hold onto for dear life...

Teenmag.com: Did you have any input into the Luke character?

JJ: Well, the way I look at that is that you have things in common with every character you'll ever play because we're all human. But generally speaking... I think a lot of that stuff in taken out of context. Like people will say 'Oh, you're just like your Pacey character.' That wasn't exactly what I meant when I said that. What I'm trying to say is that there are aspects of Pacey's personality that I understand, because, being a human being, I have those aspects too. So yes, there are aspects of Luke's personality that I understand, too, because I have those desires, those needs, those wants, just as he does. However, this is a man who is almost pathalogically focused. And that's not my problem (laughing)... I'm not burdened with that by any stretch. But he's a guy who has just fought his way to where he is at a very young age. He's 21, but he understands his choices, and he knows what he wants. But as far as input goes, it's my face and my voice, so the character is always going to seem like me no matter what I do. And the director is the one who makes the final call about all the characters.

Teenmag.com: But you had some major input?

JJ: Rob was great and was very open to suggestions. Like the whole rowing thing... that was my idea.

Teenmag.com: You mean to do your own rowing?

JJ: No, the whole thing. Originally, Luke was into sailing and yachting, but I thought it made more sense for him to be an oarsman. But the rest of it was all there on the page.

Teenmag.com: Alright, now we have some questions that Teenmag.com readers submitted for you... what's the last movie you saw?

JJ: "The Insider."

Teenmag.com: Did you like it?

JJ: I liked it a lot!

Teenmag.com: Are there any TV shows that you love, that you just can't miss?

JJ: Well, I miss them a lot because of work, but I love "The Simpsons" and "Law & Order."

Teenmag.com: O.K., the last question is the one submitted by most girls: Do you have a girlfriend?

JJ: Currently, no.

Teenmag.com: You've just made a lot of girls very happy with that! So thanks a lot for chatting with us, Josh, and good luck with the movie and with Dawson's. We're always rooting for you!

JJ: Cool, thank you. And remember: Joey and Pacey! Joey and Pacey!