Joshua Jackson Briefly Reprises His Beloved Dawson’s Creek Character in Hilarious Skit with Jimmy Fallon

Host Jimmy Fallon stood in as James Van Der Beek’s Dawson in the hilarious skit

DAWSON'S CREEK, Joshua Jackson

Joshua Jackson in ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and in March 2025.Credit : Courtesy Everett Collection; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Pacey and Dawson are back! Sort of…

Joshua Jackson was one of host Jimmy Fallon’s guests on the Tuesday, Mar. 4, episode of The Tonight Show, where he gave Dawson’s Creek fans a surprise treat.

The Doctor Odyssey star, 46, opened the show by recreating a scene from the beloved teen drama with Fallon standing in as James Van Der Beek’s character.

“Tonight, I will be reading the part of Pacey,” Jackson said, referring to his own Dawson’s Creek character.

Jackson wore a Hawaiian print shirt similar to those he frequently wore on the show as Pacey Witter.

“It’s been a minute since I’ve had one of these on,” Jackson joked as he and Fallon settled down in front of the Tonight Show house band.

The duo proceeded to perform a scene that invoked a typical heart-to-heart chat between Dawson and Pacey, with Jackson lamenting his character’s role as “the town screw-up.”

“You were never the town screw-up,” Fallon said in character as Dawson. “You just refused to play by the rules.”

“And you refused to break them,” Jackson responded.

James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery, Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter. Dawson's Creek Cast - 24 Mar 2006

Joshua Jackson and James Van Der Beek in ‘Dawson’s Creek’.ABACA/Shutterstock

The two agreed that they — or their characters — never meant to hurt each other, likely a reference to Dawson and Pacey’s rift over their shared love interest, Joey Potter (Katie Holmes).

“So, what do we do now?” Jackson asked as the band began playing Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait.” He and Fallon then burst into the Dawson’s Creek’s theme song’s chorus as the studio audience cheered.

The teen drama series aired for six seasons starting in 1998, with the two-part series finale airing in May 2003. Despite its notoriety, Van Der Beek has previously admitted he hasn’t seen it.

“I’ve never even seen the last episode,” he previously admitted.