The following is a list of characters for The WB teen television drama series, Dawson’s Creek (1998–2003). The series was created by Kevin Williamson and follows the lives of a group of close-knit friends who live in the fictional New England town of Capeside, Massachusetts.
The first season featured eight regular characters: the titular Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek); Dawson's childhood friend Joey Potter (Katie Holmes); new girl in town Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams); Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson), Dawson's other best friend; Gail Leery (Mary-Margaret Humes), Dawson's mother; Mitch Leery (John Wesley Shipp), Dawson's father; Bessie Potter (Nina Repeta), Joey's older sister; and Evelyn "Grams" Ryan, Jen's grandmother (Mary Beth Peil). In season two, siblings Jack (Kerr Smith) and Andie McPhee (Meredith Monroe) joined the series as recurring characters and became main characters in subsequent seasons; though Andie was not present for season five, she appeared as a guest in season six. In season five, Audrey Liddell (Busy Phillips) was introduced as Joey's college roommate and became a recurring character that season, becoming a main character in season six.
Main characters CharacterActorSeason123456Dawson LeeryJames Van Der Beek colspan="6" Joey PotterKatie Holmes colspan="6" Jen LindleyMichelle Williams colspan="6" Pacey WitterJoshua Jackson colspan="6" Gail LeeryMary-Margaret Humes colspan="4" colspan="2" Mitchell "Mitch" LeeryJohn Wesley Shipp colspan="4" Evelyn "Grams" RyanMary Beth Peil colspan="6" Bessie PotterNina Repeta colspan="4" colspan="2" Jack McPheeKerr Smith colspan="1" colspan="4" Andie McPheeMeredith Monroe colspan="1" colspan="2" Audrey LiddellBusy Phillips colspan="4"
Recurring characters The following is a list of characters that were recurring guests on the series; they are listed in the order that they first appeared on the show. Some characters have had story lines that spanned multiple seasons, while others are restricted to arcs that occurred during a single season of the show.
CharacterActorSeason123456Gramps RyanEd Grady colspan=5 Tamara JacobsLeann Hunley colspan=2 colspan=4 Lillian "Lily" LeeryKristen Solt colspan=4 colspan=2 Nellie Oleson Nicole Nieth colspan=1 colspan=5 Kristy LivingstoneAli Larter colspan=2 colspan=4 Abby MorganMonica Keena colspan=2 colspan=4 Cliff ElliotScott Foley colspan=5 Bodie WellsObi Ndefo colspan=2 Doug WitterDylan Neal colspan=4 Billy KonradEion Bailey colspan=5 Mike PotterGareth Williams colspan=2 colspan=3 Mr. PetersonEdmund J. Kearney colspan=4 Chris WolfeJason Behr colspan=4 John WitterJohn Finn DevonRachael Leigh Cook colspan=4 Tyson "Ty" HicksEddie Mills colspan=4 Joseph McPheeDavid Dukes colspan=3 colspan=2 Nicole KennedyMädchen Amick colspan=1 colspan=4 Eve WhitmanBrittany Daniel colspan=2 colspan=3 Rob LoganNiklaus Lange colspan=2 colspan=3 Belinda McGovern Vanessa Dorman colspan=2 colspan=3 Henry ParkerMichael Pitt colspan=2 colspan=3 Nikki GreenBianca Lawson colspan=2 colspan=3 Principal Howard GreenObba Babatundé colspan=2 colspan=3 Marcy BenderAubrey Dollar colspan=2 colspan=3 A.J. MollerRobin Dunne colspan=2 colspan=3 Ethan BrodyAdam Kaufman colspan=2 colspan=3 Buzz ThompsonJonathan Lipnicki colspan=2 colspan=3 Will KrudskiRodney Scott colspan=2 colspan=3 Gretchen WitterSasha Alexandercolspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="2" Mrs. ValentineCarolyn Hennesy colspan=3 colspan=2 Drue ValentineMark Matkevich colspan=3 colspan=2 Arthur "A.I." BrooksHarve Presnell colspan=3 colspan=2 Principal PeskinHarry Shearer colspan=3 colspan=2 Tobey BarrettDavid Monahan colspan=3 colspan=2 Melanie Shea ThompsonJennifer Morrison colspan=4 Professor David WilderKen Marino colspan=4 Dr. Rachel WeirPauley Perrette colspan=4 Heather TracyNicole Bilderback colspan=4 colspan=2 Charlie ToddChad Michael Murray colspan=4 Todd CarrHal Ozsan colspan=4 colspan=2 Karen TorresLourdes Benedicto colspan=4 Danny BrecherIan Kahn colspan=4 EricRyan Bittle colspan=4 Oliver ChirchickJordan Bridges colspan=4 Amy Lloyd Meredith Salenger colspan=4 Clifton Smalls Afemo Omilami colspan=4 Alexandra "Alex" PearlSherilyn Fenn colspan=4 Emma JonesMegan Gray colspan=5 Professor Greg HetsonRoger Howarth colspan=5 Eddie DolingOliver Hudson colspan=5 Professor Matt FreemanSebastian Spence colspan=5 C.J.Jensen Ackles colspan=5 Rich RinaldiDana Ashbrook colspan=5 Natasha KellyBianca Kajlich colspan=5 Harley HetsonMika Boorem colspan=5 DavidGreg Rikaart colspan=5 Sadia ShawSarah Shahi colspan=5 Helen LindleyMimi Rogers colspan=5 Jack Osbournehimself colspan=5
Notable guest appearances
Melissa McBride as Nina in "Road Trip" and Melanie "In All Good Things..." Mel Harris as Helen Lindley in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" Julie Bowen as Aunt Gwen in "Stolen Kisses" Danny Roberts as Jean-Jean in "Coming Home" Jane Lynch as Mrs. Witter in "The Te of Pacey" Pat Hingle as Irv the Mechanic in "Eastern Standard Time" Andy Griffith as Andrew Lanier in "A Winter's Tale" Eddie Cahill as Max Winter in "Everything Put Together Falls Apart" Ray Wise as Roger Stepavich in "All the Right Moves" Seth Rogen as Bob in "Rock Bottom" Paul Gleason as Larry Newman in "Sex and Violence"
Special cameo appearances
No Doubt as themselves in "Spiderwebs" Adam Carolla as himself in "Lovelines" Dr. Drew Pinsky as himself in "Lovelines"
References