Highlights
- Kerr Smith is writing a revealing memoir about his time playing Jack McPhee on the beloved teen drama.
- The actor reveals that Selma Blair was originally considered to play Joey Potter instead of Katie Holmes.
- Smith reflects on filming the first same-sex television kiss and his bond with the late James Van Der Beek.
Kerr Smith is finally spilling the Capeside tea. The Dawson’s Creek alum just confirmed he is writing a sprawling memoir, and he is dragging the entire cast along for the ride.
“I have a really good story to tell,” Smith told Extra in a recent interview. “It’s kind of unique to television and I want to get it on the page.”
Smith played the profoundly conflicted Jack McPhee for four angst-ridden seasons on the WB teen drama. Now, the actor plays an investigative journalist. He is actively interviewing former co-stars, crew members, and fans to piece together the definitive history of the creek.
“Nobody remembers anything the same way,” Smith noted.
Memory is a tricky thing when you spent your twenties trapped in a picturesque North Carolina town pretending to be a high schooler. He is already casually dropping massive casting bombshells.
Before Katie Holmes secured the career-making role of the perpetually tormented Joey Potter, another nineties icon almost snagged the bucket hat.
“I will tell you that Selma Blair was in the running for Joey Potter, but Katie Holmes was perfect for that role,” Kerr revealed.
Can you imagine Blair’s signature biting sarcasm surviving the agonizingly verbose dialogue of Kevin Williamson‘s fictional teens? The alternate universe where Kathryn Merteuil paddles a canoe down a Massachusetts river is genuinely thrilling.
But the real emotional meat of Smith’s upcoming book centers on his character’s legendary romantic milestone. In 1998, Smith anchored a massively controversial storyline that culminated in prime-time television’s very first same-sex kiss.
“In 1998, that was a big deal because it hadn’t been done before in prime time,” he reflected.
Network executives were notoriously sweating bullets over the broadcast. Conservative watchdog groups were practically frothing at the mouth.
“I’m not going to lie, it was a scary experience,” Smith added. “I knew at the time I was about to be part of something really monumental.”
The cultural shockwaves of Jack McPhee coming out on national television are still actively felt today.
He said, “25 years later as a 54-year-old man, I look back and I go, ‘Man, it was a lot bigger than I even realized then.'”
Beyond the television history, Smith also took a highly solemn moment to reflect on his late co-star James Van Der Beek. The beloved leading man tragically passed away earlier this year, leaving a massive, unfillable void in the Dawson’s Creek family.
“My relationship with James was very unique in that we had a 25, 30-year relationship,” Smith said. “Obviously it got cut short, but it’s something that’s really special to me.”
Smith’s memoir sounds like both a juicy behind-the-scenes tell-all and a heartfelt tribute to his fallen friend. Get your pre-orders ready, because this will be required reading for anyone who survived the nineties.
