NEED TO KNOW
- Kerr Smith is opening up concerning the challenges that got here with taking up a job that will go on to make tv historical past
- In a brand new interview, Smith — who performed Jack McPhee on Dawson’s Creek — spoke concerning the function, which grew to become the primary homosexual character to share a same-sex kiss on primetime tv
- However when he was employed, Smith did not know the character could be homosexual, nor did the studio
Kerr Smith says his Dawson’s Creek character’s sexuality was such a closely-guarded secret that even the community and studio weren’t conscious that he would make historical past as the primary homosexual character to share a same-sex kiss on primetime tv.
Smith, 53, spoke about studying the information himself on the Monday, Nov. 3 episode of Pod Meets World — a Boy Meets World rewatch podcast hosted by Danielle Fishel, Rider Sturdy and Will Friedle.
“No one knew. I did not know. The WB did not know, Sony did not know, not one of the producers knew,” Kerr mentioned. “It was an concept in [screenwriter] Kevin Williamsons’ head, that is it.”
He added that he would “always remember” the day he realized that his character, Jack McPhee, could be popping out on tv.
He added that the actors had been capturing on location in Wilmington, North Carolina, when Williamson approached him to get a cup of espresso.
“That is, like, two months into the job for me — I am pondering, ‘Oh crap, am I getting fired?’ ” Smith mentioned.
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On the stroll to get espresso, although, he had an epiphany, he mentioned, going to to element how lots of the characters on the present represented totally different aspects of Williamson’s personal character.
“Kevin’s actually Katie [Holmes],” he mentioned. “After which the jokester’s Josh [Jackson] and the brainy man is Dawson and naturally the wild aspect is Michelle [Williams]. However no one was representing his sexuality at the moment as a result of he was within the closet publicly and he wished to return out publicly past his household and mates.”
Once they bought to the espresso store, Williamson informed Kerr the information. “His precise phrases had been, ‘Kerr, we wanna go down a unique avenue with Jack.’ And I I went, ‘holy crap,’ in my head. I did not say that out loud.”
“So what occurred was I mentioned, ‘Look, are you able to give me the day or a few days as a result of I have to make some cellphone calls and principally name everybody that I respect and their opinion of, and see if … I have to make the proper determination right here as a result of at the moment in 1998, this can be a robust one,” Kerr mentioned.
The actor added that the information was, on the time, “an actual bummer for me, actually.”
“I will be trustworthy about this. I used to be actually excited as a result of I simply bought my dream job and I am so excited. And now I am being requested to do one thing very, very totally different,” Kerr mentioned.
When the episode by which Kerr’s character got here out lastly aired, the set grew to become topic to protests, he mentioned.
“We had protests outdoors the stage yelling and screaming. There was a brick wall that separated me consuming my lunch from a crowd of those that had been indignant as hell. If I had walked on the market, they’d most likely beat the crap out of me,” Kerr mentioned, including: “As a result of it was within the South, too, which did not assist.”
Kerr added: “So I principally known as everyone I knew — my dad, my agent, my sister, everyone they usually all mentioned, ‘Do it.’ One of many conversations I bear in mind probably the most, I requested [actor] John Wesley Shipp as a result of he was there that day and we had been having lunch collectively and he mentioned, ‘Kerr, do it as a result of you’ll get the most effective of Kevin Williamson’s writing.’ And he is proper.”
Kerr acknowledged that he was “very, very scared,” however added: “Now wanting again in hindsight, I simply wanna say this: I am tremendous, tremendous happy with what we pulled off as a result of as , the face of tv has modified and I feel individuals’s acceptance of different individuals, sexuality, or no matter it may be is rather more broad and rather more open nowadays.”
Smith not too long ago appeared alongside Dawson’s Creek costars Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps at a one-night-only reunion occasion and in addition introduced he’s engaged on a e book, titled I Do not Wish to Wait: My Journey on Dawson’s Creek With out a Paddle, due for launch in Fall 2026.
Sharing the information on Instagram, he wrote, “It’s been a wild experience since Capeside. I’m writing a e book that dives into my journey and all issues Dawson’s Creek — and I need to convey you alongside for it. 📩 Subscribe to get behind-the-scenes updates and be the primary to know when it’s prepared.”
