What the cast of Dawson’s Creek looked like then versus now

Will anyone ever get over the tragic ending Jen Lindley received after six seasons of Capeside fun? Unless the ghost of Jen haunts her friends in a reunion that will probably never happen, it’s probably best to focus instead on Michelle Williams’ incredible film career, which has included award-winning and critically acclaimed performances in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, My Week with Marilyn, and Manchester by the Sea.

It's hard to believe Canadian bae Joshua Jackson once sported the Pacey Witter bowl cut, but 20 years later, I'm happy to bring your attention to Joshua's well-maintained, incredibly hot beard, seen on the right at a press conference for Showtime's The Affair, which by the way is not a show about Pacey and his teacher Tamara Jacobs (slide 10).

To this day, Mary-Margaret Humes still doesn’t know why the show made Dawson’s mum marry some rando (his name is Nathan) shortly after the death of Dawson’s dad Mitch. “So, they killed him which OK, but don’t diminish what we had by marrying me off,” she told Us Weekly in January 2018. “It’s been a beef of mine ever since… I just thought that they did a disservice somehow to our relationship and it kind of pissed me off!”

Mitch, who once advised Dawson, “Sex is a big part of who we are as human beings” (season one, episode one), held many jobs in Capeside, including guidance counselor and co-owner of Leery’s Fresh Fish. On season five, Mitch died after dropping his ice cream while driving. Oddly enough, John Wesley Shipp’s first role after Dawson was in a TV movie called Road Rage. These days, he can be found playing Jay Garrick (Dr. Henry Allen) on The CW’s The Flash.

Capeside’s guiding light, Evelyn “Grams” Ryan, always knew best, even if the youngs didn’t want to admit it. Besides Dawson, Joey, Jen, and Pacey, Grams was the only character to have a leading role on Dawson’s Creek during its entire six-season run (Bess and Gail were demoted to “recurring” in the final two seasons). If you’re ever in New York and need that good ‘ol Grams charm, you can catch Mary Beth Peil as the Dowager Empress in the Broadway production of Anastasia; the role earned Mary Beth a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress.

If all big sisters were as perfect as Bess, the world would be a better place. Nina Repeta’s Dawson’s connection is creator Kevin Williamson; the two went to college together at East Carolina University. Twenty years later, Nina is a self-described “bohemian art mum” and “wife of aquaman.” She also sings jazz and blues, and owns at least one pillow with a decorative dog print.

Over four seasons, Bodhi only appeared on 11 episodes, which is too bad because actor Obi Ndefo’s chiseled eyebrows deserved better (ie. more screen time). If you eventually gave up on trying to explain why Bodhi was always out of town, perhaps you made time to check out Obi’s other TV work, which included episodes of Stargate SG-1, The West Wing, and 2017’s Beauty and the Baller.

A legend from TV’s OG Dynasty (playing Dana Waring Carrington), Leann Hunley took Capeside by storm when her teacher character had a forbidden love affair with student Pacey Witter. Leann would go on to play Logan’s mum Shira on Gilmore Girls and Anna DiMera on Days of Our Lives.

Jack’s journey to coming out on Dawson’s Creek (by way of dating Joey) set new heights for how to deal with LGBT storylines on TV in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. For five seasons, Kerr Smith beautifully explored Jack’s growth and relationships, even putting a spotlight on his friendship with the extremely conservative Grams. Speaking to Bustle in 2015, Kerr said playing Jack “was a significant role back in the day. Back in ’99, I think it was, or ’00 – when we decided to do this gay storyline – back then, there weren’t a lot of gay characters on television. It was a big deal.” Since 2014, Kerr has been on The Fosters, playing Callie’s biological dad.

Unlike her brother, Andie had a short run on Dawson’s Creek, making her exit at the beginning of season four. Still, Meredith Monroe’s character faced very real issues, from her intense relationship with Pacey to her mental health struggles. (She would return for the season four graduation episode and the series finale.) Meredith’s post-Dawson resume includes episodes of Californication, Heart of Dixie, CSI: NY, and Castle.

Outside of bossing and being a dad figure to Pacey (big bros always know best), Doug had the best collection of tight police uniforms in Capeside. His personal life didn’t get interesting until the series finale, when the show finally rewarded him with his true love, Jack McPhee. IRL, actor Dylan Neal was most recently seen in the Fifty Shades films, playing Anastasia’s stepfather Bob.

Audrey should have been in Jen's life (and all of our lives) much, much earlier in the show's run. But Busy Philipps had another show to do (Freaks and Geeks) and we should still be grateful for her wit and charm at the fictional Boston Bay College. If you're not already following Busy on Instagram (she's hilarious and real), do yourself a favour and click that "follow" button immediately. You won't regret it.

After making her Dawson’s Creek debut in detention as Abby, Monica Keena would appear in 13 more episodes over two seasons. Sure, her friendship with Jen was questionable at first, but who hasn’t befriended an Abby in high school? Monica has since appeared on episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer, Castle, and a handful of horror movies.

Remember when Dawson made a movie called Creek Daze? Remember his lead? That’s Chris, who always had too much gel in his hair and had a huge crush on Jen. IRL, Jason Behr would go on to star on his own WB show, Roswell, opposite Katherine Heigl and Shiri Appleby, which premiered in 1999 and lasted for three seasons.

Continuing with Jen’s admirers, here’s sweet Henry, who arguably had the best lips in Capeside (sorry, Pacey). Actor Michael Pitt and his lips have enjoyed a steady film and TV career. Wonder what Dawson Leery, successful filmmaker, would have to say about Boardwalk Empire or Hannibal…

Following the success of the Sweet Valley High TV series, Brittany Daniel appeared on four episodes of Dawson’s Creek, playing mystery girl Eve, who turns out to be Jen’s half-sister. Her TV career continued well after Dawson’s, thanks to episodes of That ‘70s Show, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and most recently, Blackish.

Jack's first love interest, Ethan, also had one of the nicest sets of eyebrows on the show. It's really too bad things never worked out between them, but on the bright side, Adam Kaufman and those brows are still killing it on TV these days. You might have seen him on an episode of Mad Men, NCIS, and most recently, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, playing Rebecca's Harvard professor and former lover.

Before becoming a "bonus daughter" to Tina Knowles (making her step-sisters with Beyonce and Solange), Bianca Lawson played a teen on everything from Dawson's Creek to Pretty Little Liars. Unfortunately, her season three arc on Dawson's, playing the principal's daughter and fellow film lover (hi, Dawson), only lasted for four episodes. Currently, Bianca can be seen as Darla on Queen Sugar.