july 2018 48
WBM
Most of the actors were
unknowns embarking on their first
big roles. Katie Holmes played the
role of Joey, Dawson’s best friend
and eventual love interest. She
spends large chunks of the
series caught in a love triangle
between Dawson, played by
James Van Der Beek, and his
friend Pacey, portrayed by Joshua Jackson. Michelle Williams was cast in
the role of bad-girl Jen from New York, who becomes Dawson’s new next-door neighbor
when she is sent to live with her grandmother, played by Mary Beth Peil.
The filming crew was a mixture of out-of-towners and local pros who had moved to
the area when Wilmington was known as the Hollywood of the East.
“Each filming season, the whole crew would come to the house every couple of weeks
for a day or two at a time and completely take over the yard,” Russell says. “They’d
bring semi-trailers full of equipment and anywhere from 75 to 100 people — actors,
directors and crew. There was a table with every kind of snack you can imagine set up
near the house, and a food truck and tent at another house in the neighborhood for
catered meals, which we were invited to attend. I remember being really impressed with
how efficient the whole operation was, and how courteous they were to us. They would
keep us in the loop by giving us copies of the script so we’d know what scene they were
filming that day.”
“Dawson’s Creek” became the second mainstream TV show to shoot locally;
“Matlock” filmed in Wilmington from 1993 through 1995. “Dawson’s” utilized locations
in both New Hanover and Brunswick counties. Alderman Hall on the University
of North Carolina Wilmington campus served as the exterior of Capeside High School.
Elijah’s Restaurant on the Cape Fear River is Pacey’s restaurant in the final season.
Various locations from Wilmington’s Riverwalk all the way to Southport’s waterfront are
still visited by fans.
Yet for many, nothing is more iconic than Dawson’s house on the creek.
“Some fans have waited years, it’s a dream of a lifetime, that’s what they say,”
Bowser says. “It’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to them, you can see it.”
Bowser has very much enjoyed the role of connecting with fans and scheduling their
A reenactment scene of Joey visiting Dawson as
children. When they quit filming the production
company left behind many props, including
pieces of porch furniture and the ladder.