Born in Vancouver, 20 year-old Joshua Jackson spent
his formative years in California, moving with his family
back to Vancouver at the age of eight. It was there that
he launched his professional career, appearing in a
series of television commercials promoting tourism in
British Columbia. While his family shuttled between
Vancouver and California, Jackson also sang with the
San Francisco Boys' Chorus.
In describing his character, Pacey, Jackson admits, "Four years ago, I had similar issues to what Pacey is dealing with. We both grew up in a community-based atmosphere. He grew up in a much smaller town, which has its own limitations and benefits, but I grew up in a community where I knew everybody in the neighborhood, went to school with all the same kids and spent a decade of my life with the same people. Like Pacey, I also have an offbeat sense of humor and I enjoy laughing, having a good time and often get myself in trouble for it. But neither of us is mischievous for mischief's sake. Pacey's in his own world, doing his own thing, which unfortunately seems to offend a lot of people."
Jackson continues, "Pacey's basically an outsider at school who also feels disconnected from his family. He's always been told he's a screw-up and isn't going to succeed, so he feels he can do anything he likes and has nothing to lose. He finds a group of friends that take him for what he is and both understand and appreciate his oddball quality. Pacey's also the odd man out in his family. His father is the sheriff of Capeside and his brother is a deputy. He is closer to his mother and sisters, but his sisters are off at school. Because of this family dynamic, Pacey is much more comfortable with women. I was raised among females; it was just me, my mom and my sister and I'm more comfortable being around women because of that, too."
Unlike his DAWSON'S CREEK character, however, Jackson excelled at an early age. Landing his first feature-film role in Michael Bortman's CROOKE HEARTS for MGM/Pathe, Jackson's stage debut followed in 1991, when he played the lead role of Charlie in the Seattle production of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Since then, Jackson has appeared in such films as ANDRE THE SEAL, TOMBSTONE, DIGGER and MAGIC IN THE WATER, as well as all three of Disney's THE MIGHTY DUCKS features, portraying the coach's prodigy and the team's voice of reason, Charlie. Jackson has also recently completed principal photography for Bryan Singer's latest film, APT PUPIL, starring Ian McKellen and produced by Mike Medavoy.
His recent television projects include two Showtime Contemporary Classics, ROBIN OF LOCKSLEY, based on the Robin Hood legend, and RONNIE AND JULIE, an updated version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Jackson has also appeared in CHAMPS, the DreamWorks/ABC series created and produced by FAMILY TIES producer Gary David Goldberg.
As a regular on DAWSON'S CREEK, Jackson now lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, during production.