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"On Dawson's Creek it's Pacey's Party"
by Kathy McCabe
Sunday Telegraph, May 6th

Teen drama Dawson's Creek may have started with one heartthrob but Joshua Jackson has stolen the limelight and the leading lady.

Hollywood was quick to notice Joshua Jackson. While no stranger to the big scree- remember the mighty Ducks- his turn as emerging hunk Pacey Witter on teen drama Dawson's Creek has changed more than a few perceptions.

Originally cast as the class clown to provide relief from lead character Dawson Leery's existential angst, Pacey started turning the tide because girls like a funny guy.

It may be Dawson's Creek but it's Pacey's party.

So as on-screen rivals James Van Der Beek was cast in coming-of-age wannabe jock flicks, Jackson took the edgier, smaller roles on films like The Skulls, Gossip and Urban Legend.

While none of the above set the box office alight, Jackson, 22, has been proclaimed the next Tom Hanks by series creator Kevin Williamson.

His refreshing honesty extends to talking about his cast mates.

"We have ended up with a family-type situation, meaning a dysfunctional family with aspects that work and some that don't," he said.

He and Van Der Beek have indirectly competed for some film roles but Jackson is quick to point out he didn't want the part in Varsity Blues, which was successful in the US but completely flopped here.

"I didn't want to be in Varsity Blues. James did. James is the only other guy the director considered for the Skulls but he really wanted to do Texas rangers.

"And I didn't want to do Texas Rangers, so luckily we didn't have to come into direct confrontation," he said. "There isn't any competition".

Jackson returned to his day job, content to put in the hard yards and keep translating that slow-burn charm into ratings points during the fourth season. Introduce the love interest triangle with Pacey becoming intimate with Dawson's long-time gal pal Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) and guess who steals the big scenes.

Rumours quickly emerged of an off-screen romance between Holmes and Jackson, and Van Der Beek was painted as being grossly unhappy about his co-star's burgeoning popularity with the fans.

"I've had more of an opportunity to work with Katie Holmes, which is incredibly enjoyable," he said.

"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."

He was almost overpowered by the mod scenes which happened while shooting the film The Skulls last year.

Jackson admits he remains bewildered by the passion and intensity of the young women who pursue him.

"On the very first day of filming, I did a scene that required me to drive a car- and the first time I came round the corner there were 10 girls there," he said. "The next time I rounded the corner, there were 100 girls.

"In an hour, I had emptied out an entire 10-Grade class of girls, who were screaming at the top of their lungs 'Josh!' But, really, I'm on the B list of celebrities next to, say, Leonardo Di Caprio."

While the busy workload of shooting a successful television series in the middle of nowhere- North Carolina- stymies any party plans, Jackson isn't the type to do the red carpet shuffle.

"We shoot Dawson's in North Carolina, so we're very cloistered little group," he said. "I don't live among actors and I've never ever been to the Key Club or Bar Marmont. What I love doing is go camping, to spend time with my mother and sister, for whom my greatest please is that I'm lucky enough to be able to provide financially for them".

His wicked sense of humour will be given a significant airing when he appears on The Simpsons.

Jackson stepped out of Capeside and into Springfield to play Jesse Grass, an eco-terrorist who wins the heart of Lisa Simpson.

"The Simpsons is my absolute all-time favourite show," he said.

"I was so excited throughout the entire process- until I saw myself animated. There's nothing more disheartening than realising you're prettier as a cartoon than you are in person."

Back at the Creek, the love triangle storylines brought the fans back while the actors struggled to adapt to the new team of writers who replaced Williamson, who went on to develop other projects.

Jackson admits some concern about how the show will develop with the characters graduating from high school during this season. It is a difficult development to contain as the writer and producers of Beverly Hills 90210 discovered the hard way.

"I am enjoying the ride," he says. "I don't want to inhibit the writers because the fun is in doing different things".