American teen drama Dawson’s Creek is almost equally beloved now as it was during its original run from 1998 to 2003. So it is hard to imagine someone else playing Dawson and Joey beside James Van Der Beek and Katie Holmes or having different actors portraying Pacey and Jen than Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams. As it turns out, that could have easily been the case.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, series creator Kevin Williamson revealed that Grey’s Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl almost got the role of Jen. Director Steve Miner, who worked on both Dawson’s Creek pilot and Heigl’s My Father the Hero, brought in the actress to audition for the role.
“She looked slightly older at that time,” remembered Williamson. “Even though she was younger, I just think she was more mature. She gave a great audition, I remember we were all sort of like, ‘Wow, she’s good.'”
But after Heigl Williams auditioned and seemed more fitting for the role in Williamson’s opinion.
“I’m a horror movie guy, so I recognized Michelle from Species,” he said. “She was the baby species monster. But she walked in and she came across as an angel.”
Kevin Williamson also revealed that Joshua Jackson was his first pick for the role of Dawson, but the network didn’t share his opinion. So Williamson gave Jackson the role of Pacey and later realized that James Van Der Beek is, in fact, the perfect Dawson.
“He looked the part, he acted the part, he talked the part,” said Williamson. “And he was so intelligent, he was so smart. He didn’t look like a nerd but he was a nerd inside.”
Finally, Joey was supposed to be played by Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), and the Dawson’s Creek creator was already sure he has finalized the casting process. Then Katie Holmes swooped in at the last moment and won everyone over with her infamous audition tape filmed in the basement.
