Dawson's Creek Cast: Where Are They Now?
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Nathan Sharp
We've been thinking about the Dawson's Creek cast. Where are they now? For this list, we'll be looking at various actors and actresses that starred in “Dawson's Creek” and seeing what they've been up to since the teen drama ended. Our countdown includes Busy Philipps, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and more!
This creek has been dry for a while. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top “Dawson’s Creek” cast members - where are they now?
For this list, we’ll be looking at various actors and actresses that starred in “Dawson’s Creek” and seeing what they’ve been up to since the teen drama ended.
#13: Sasha Alexander
Alexander was only on one season of “Dawson’s Creek,” playing Gretchen Witter for twenty episodes throughout season four. Just two years later, she landed the role of Special Agent Caitlin Todd on “NCIS,” a role she would inhabit for fifty episodes between 2003 and 2015. She also portrayed Helene Runyon throughout eleven episodes of “Shameless.” But her most substantial post-”Dawson’s Creek” role is that of Dr. Maura Isles on the TNT police procedural “Rizzoli & Isles,” which ran between 2010 and 2016. She played the role for all six years and 105 episodes and even won a People’s Choice Award for her efforts.
#12: Dylan Neal
Neal is another short-lived “Dawson’s Creek” alumni, starring in just twenty episodes as Doug Witter. Neal has appeared in dozens of TV shows and made-for-TV movies since leaving “Dawson’s Creek” behind, including a main role in the short-lived Canadian horror police procedural “Blood Ties.” He also played Professor Ivo for seven episodes of “Arrow” between 2013 and 2014. Neal has since ventured into producing and writing, and he and his wife, Becky Southwell, currently run Southwell Neal Entertainment, which produces content for Hallmark. Neal writes, produces, and stars in the “Gourmet Detective” series, the fifth of which aired in January 2020.
#11: Nina Repeta
Repeta actually attended East Carolina University with “Dawson’s Creek” creator Kevin Williamson, which may have led to her long-running role as Bessie Potter. It seems like Repeta has been taking it easy since the show ended - according to IMDb, she’s only been credited in seven roles since 2003. In 2015, she was credited as “Woman with Stroller” in “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” so she has that going for her! That same year she was credited as Melinda in an episode of “The Originals,” and in 2017 she appeared as Blue-Blood Woman in TNT’s “Good Behavior.” If we had “Dawson’s Creek” money, we’d probably take it easy, too.
#10: John Wesley Shipp
Shipp was an established television actor before his time as Mitch Leery. He played Barry Allen on CBS’s “The Flash” between 1990 and 1991, and before that he worked on various soap operas. It makes sense, then, that he returned to both after his time on “Dawson’s Creek.” In 2010, he went back to “One Life to Live” after more than twenty years, this time in the role of Eddie Ford. He appeared in nineteen episodes overall. And in 2014 he once again returned to the “Flash” franchise, this time playing Henry Allen in The CW’s iteration. Between 2014 and 2019, he appeared in more than twenty episodes.
#9: Mary Margaret-Humes
Before her time on “Dawson’s Creek,” Mary Margaret-Humes partook in beauty contests and was even the third runner up in the 1975 Miss USA pageant. Five years later, she landed her first acting role on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and in 1998 she began her brilliant work as Gail Leery. Unfortunately, her work has dwindled in the 2010s, and she now appears in one-off episodes of various TV shows and made-for-TV movies. Between 2018-19, she starred in 4 television movies, like “Christmas in Love,” “Winter Love Story,” and “A Feeling of Home.” In 2018, she was also controversially left out of an Entertainment Weekly reunion spread, and she told “Access” “I wish I could have been there.” Us too.
#8: Mary Beth Peil
Before her time as Grams, Mary Beth Peil was actually a professional opera singer. She toured with the Metropolitan Opera’s national company and eventually made her way to Broadway. In 1985, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her work in “The King and I.” She has since returned to the stage and is doing as well as she ever has. In the mid-2010s, she played Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in “Anastasia” and received her second Tony award nomination. She also remains busy on television, having starred as Jackie Florrick in “The Good Wife” between 2009 and 2016. In 2019, she appeared in five episodes of the NBC drama “The Village.” It’s great to see her doing so well!
#7: Meredith Monroe
Monroe is yet another “Dawson’s Creek” alum that didn’t start out in acting. Before 1996, Monroe was a professional model and modeled for companies like L’Oreal, Ford, and Mattel. Her first acting role came in 1997, and just one year later she was playing Andie McPhee. She continues to act on television and has appeared in dozens of shows throughout the years, mostly in one-off roles. Throughout the 2010s, she has popped up on “CSI: NY,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and “S.W.A.T.” Her most substantial role of the decade is that of Carolyn Standall in Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why.” She appeared in seven episodes of the show between 2018 and 2019.
#6: Busy Philipps
Busy Philipps is certainly a busy actress. We are so sorry for that pun. Philipps has remained steady on television since 1999 when she starred as Kim Kelly on “Freaks and Geeks.” And after her two-year stint on “Dawson’s Creek,” Philipps played Dr. Hope Bobeck on “ER.” In 2015, she ended her six-year run on “Cougar Town,” a role that earned her a Critics’ Choice TV Award in 2011. Between 2016 and 2017, she played Gale Liptrapp on HBO’s “Vice Principals,” and in 2018 she landed her own late night talk show on E! titled “Busy Tonight.” Unfortunately, the show was eventually cancelled and its last episode aired on May 16, 2019.
#5: Kerr Smith
Smith began his acting career on the soap opera “As the World Turns” - his role spanned one year and 24 episodes. The very next year he began his stint as Jack McPhee and starred in 113 of the show’s 128 episodes. Smith remains active on television. Between 2014 and 2018, he appeared as Robert Quinn on the Freeform drama “The Fosters,” and in 2016 he starred in three episodes of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” He also joined the cast of “Riverdale” playing Principal Holden Honey, who took over as Principal of Riverdale High following Weatherbee’s departure.
#4: Joshua Jackson
Before his time as Pacey Witter, Joshua Jackson was known as Charlie from “The Mighty Ducks” movies, which spanned from 1992 to 1996. Jackson has remained a regular on TV since “Dawson’s Creek” concluded in 2003. Between 2008 and 2013, he starred as Peter Bishop in “Fringe,” and in 2018 he concluded a four-year, 43-episode stint on “The Affair.” For the latter, he was nominated for two People’s Choice Awards. In 2019, he appeared in three episodes of Netflix’s “When They See Us” and is currently set to star as Bill Richardson in Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere.” Jackson also married British model Jodie Turner-Smith in 2019, and it was announced in December of that year that the couple were expecting their first child.
#3: Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams is arguably the breakout star of “Dawson’s Creek.” She has starred in blockbusters like “Venom” and “The Greatest Showman” and has earned numerous awards, including two Golden Globes, an Emmy, and a SAG. In 2019, she executive produced and starred in “Fosse/Verdon,” a biographical drama about choreographer Bob Fosse and professional dancer Gwen Verdon. That role earned her the aforementioned Golden Globe, Emmy, and SAG awards. Her other Golden Globe win was in 2012 for “My Week with Marilyn.” Williams is currently filming “Venom 2,” which is scheduled for release in October 2020. So, yeah, she’s doing alright for herself.
#2: Katie Holmes
Holmes is another breakout star, albeit in a slightly different kind of way. While she continued to act after “Dawson’s Creek,” starring in movies like “Phone Booth” and “Batman Begins,” Holmes was mostly known for her marriage to Tom Cruise, who she began dating in April 2005. The two went through a very public and impassioned divorce in 2012, which centered around claims that Cruise was going to abduct their daughter Suri. Holmes made a bit of a comeback after the divorce was finalized, appearing in movies like “Logan Lucky” and “Ocean’s 8.” She also enjoyed a recurring role throughout season three of “Ray Donovan” and is credited for three movies in 2020 - “Coda,” “Brahms: The Boy II,” and “The Secret: Dare to Dream.”
#1: James Van Der Beek
And finally we come to the Dawson of “Dawson’s Creek,” Mr. James Van Der Beek himself. It wasn’t Van Der Beek’s first role, but it made him a household name and remains his most substantial. He has since jumped from TV show to TV show, and between 2014 and 2018 he was in the main cast of five different programs - “Friends with Better Lives,” “CSI: Cyber,” “Carters Get Rich,” “Vampirina,” and “Pose.” 2019 also saw Van Der Beek cameoing as himself in the “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” and competing on season 28 of “Dancing with the Stars.” He finished in fifth. Van Der Beek has also become a bit of a family man, fathering no less than five children with his wife, Kimberly Brook.
For this list, we’ll be looking at various actors and actresses that starred in “Dawson’s Creek” and seeing what they’ve been up to since the teen drama ended.
#13: Sasha Alexander
Alexander was only on one season of “Dawson’s Creek,” playing Gretchen Witter for twenty episodes throughout season four. Just two years later, she landed the role of Special Agent Caitlin Todd on “NCIS,” a role she would inhabit for fifty episodes between 2003 and 2015. She also portrayed Helene Runyon throughout eleven episodes of “Shameless.” But her most substantial post-”Dawson’s Creek” role is that of Dr. Maura Isles on the TNT police procedural “Rizzoli & Isles,” which ran between 2010 and 2016. She played the role for all six years and 105 episodes and even won a People’s Choice Award for her efforts.
#12: Dylan Neal
Neal is another short-lived “Dawson’s Creek” alumni, starring in just twenty episodes as Doug Witter. Neal has appeared in dozens of TV shows and made-for-TV movies since leaving “Dawson’s Creek” behind, including a main role in the short-lived Canadian horror police procedural “Blood Ties.” He also played Professor Ivo for seven episodes of “Arrow” between 2013 and 2014. Neal has since ventured into producing and writing, and he and his wife, Becky Southwell, currently run Southwell Neal Entertainment, which produces content for Hallmark. Neal writes, produces, and stars in the “Gourmet Detective” series, the fifth of which aired in January 2020.
#11: Nina Repeta
Repeta actually attended East Carolina University with “Dawson’s Creek” creator Kevin Williamson, which may have led to her long-running role as Bessie Potter. It seems like Repeta has been taking it easy since the show ended - according to IMDb, she’s only been credited in seven roles since 2003. In 2015, she was credited as “Woman with Stroller” in “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” so she has that going for her! That same year she was credited as Melinda in an episode of “The Originals,” and in 2017 she appeared as Blue-Blood Woman in TNT’s “Good Behavior.” If we had “Dawson’s Creek” money, we’d probably take it easy, too.
#10: John Wesley Shipp
Shipp was an established television actor before his time as Mitch Leery. He played Barry Allen on CBS’s “The Flash” between 1990 and 1991, and before that he worked on various soap operas. It makes sense, then, that he returned to both after his time on “Dawson’s Creek.” In 2010, he went back to “One Life to Live” after more than twenty years, this time in the role of Eddie Ford. He appeared in nineteen episodes overall. And in 2014 he once again returned to the “Flash” franchise, this time playing Henry Allen in The CW’s iteration. Between 2014 and 2019, he appeared in more than twenty episodes.
#9: Mary Margaret-Humes
Before her time on “Dawson’s Creek,” Mary Margaret-Humes partook in beauty contests and was even the third runner up in the 1975 Miss USA pageant. Five years later, she landed her first acting role on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and in 1998 she began her brilliant work as Gail Leery. Unfortunately, her work has dwindled in the 2010s, and she now appears in one-off episodes of various TV shows and made-for-TV movies. Between 2018-19, she starred in 4 television movies, like “Christmas in Love,” “Winter Love Story,” and “A Feeling of Home.” In 2018, she was also controversially left out of an Entertainment Weekly reunion spread, and she told “Access” “I wish I could have been there.” Us too.
#8: Mary Beth Peil
Before her time as Grams, Mary Beth Peil was actually a professional opera singer. She toured with the Metropolitan Opera’s national company and eventually made her way to Broadway. In 1985, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her work in “The King and I.” She has since returned to the stage and is doing as well as she ever has. In the mid-2010s, she played Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in “Anastasia” and received her second Tony award nomination. She also remains busy on television, having starred as Jackie Florrick in “The Good Wife” between 2009 and 2016. In 2019, she appeared in five episodes of the NBC drama “The Village.” It’s great to see her doing so well!
#7: Meredith Monroe
Monroe is yet another “Dawson’s Creek” alum that didn’t start out in acting. Before 1996, Monroe was a professional model and modeled for companies like L’Oreal, Ford, and Mattel. Her first acting role came in 1997, and just one year later she was playing Andie McPhee. She continues to act on television and has appeared in dozens of shows throughout the years, mostly in one-off roles. Throughout the 2010s, she has popped up on “CSI: NY,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and “S.W.A.T.” Her most substantial role of the decade is that of Carolyn Standall in Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why.” She appeared in seven episodes of the show between 2018 and 2019.
#6: Busy Philipps
Busy Philipps is certainly a busy actress. We are so sorry for that pun. Philipps has remained steady on television since 1999 when she starred as Kim Kelly on “Freaks and Geeks.” And after her two-year stint on “Dawson’s Creek,” Philipps played Dr. Hope Bobeck on “ER.” In 2015, she ended her six-year run on “Cougar Town,” a role that earned her a Critics’ Choice TV Award in 2011. Between 2016 and 2017, she played Gale Liptrapp on HBO’s “Vice Principals,” and in 2018 she landed her own late night talk show on E! titled “Busy Tonight.” Unfortunately, the show was eventually cancelled and its last episode aired on May 16, 2019.
#5: Kerr Smith
Smith began his acting career on the soap opera “As the World Turns” - his role spanned one year and 24 episodes. The very next year he began his stint as Jack McPhee and starred in 113 of the show’s 128 episodes. Smith remains active on television. Between 2014 and 2018, he appeared as Robert Quinn on the Freeform drama “The Fosters,” and in 2016 he starred in three episodes of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” He also joined the cast of “Riverdale” playing Principal Holden Honey, who took over as Principal of Riverdale High following Weatherbee’s departure.
#4: Joshua Jackson
Before his time as Pacey Witter, Joshua Jackson was known as Charlie from “The Mighty Ducks” movies, which spanned from 1992 to 1996. Jackson has remained a regular on TV since “Dawson’s Creek” concluded in 2003. Between 2008 and 2013, he starred as Peter Bishop in “Fringe,” and in 2018 he concluded a four-year, 43-episode stint on “The Affair.” For the latter, he was nominated for two People’s Choice Awards. In 2019, he appeared in three episodes of Netflix’s “When They See Us” and is currently set to star as Bill Richardson in Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere.” Jackson also married British model Jodie Turner-Smith in 2019, and it was announced in December of that year that the couple were expecting their first child.
#3: Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams is arguably the breakout star of “Dawson’s Creek.” She has starred in blockbusters like “Venom” and “The Greatest Showman” and has earned numerous awards, including two Golden Globes, an Emmy, and a SAG. In 2019, she executive produced and starred in “Fosse/Verdon,” a biographical drama about choreographer Bob Fosse and professional dancer Gwen Verdon. That role earned her the aforementioned Golden Globe, Emmy, and SAG awards. Her other Golden Globe win was in 2012 for “My Week with Marilyn.” Williams is currently filming “Venom 2,” which is scheduled for release in October 2020. So, yeah, she’s doing alright for herself.
#2: Katie Holmes
Holmes is another breakout star, albeit in a slightly different kind of way. While she continued to act after “Dawson’s Creek,” starring in movies like “Phone Booth” and “Batman Begins,” Holmes was mostly known for her marriage to Tom Cruise, who she began dating in April 2005. The two went through a very public and impassioned divorce in 2012, which centered around claims that Cruise was going to abduct their daughter Suri. Holmes made a bit of a comeback after the divorce was finalized, appearing in movies like “Logan Lucky” and “Ocean’s 8.” She also enjoyed a recurring role throughout season three of “Ray Donovan” and is credited for three movies in 2020 - “Coda,” “Brahms: The Boy II,” and “The Secret: Dare to Dream.”
#1: James Van Der Beek
And finally we come to the Dawson of “Dawson’s Creek,” Mr. James Van Der Beek himself. It wasn’t Van Der Beek’s first role, but it made him a household name and remains his most substantial. He has since jumped from TV show to TV show, and between 2014 and 2018 he was in the main cast of five different programs - “Friends with Better Lives,” “CSI: Cyber,” “Carters Get Rich,” “Vampirina,” and “Pose.” 2019 also saw Van Der Beek cameoing as himself in the “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” and competing on season 28 of “Dancing with the Stars.” He finished in fifth. Van Der Beek has also become a bit of a family man, fathering no less than five children with his wife, Kimberly Brook.
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