Kerr Smith says the gay kiss in ‘Dawson’s Creek’ is now a ‘part of history’
The 1990s show was the first ever to feature an openly gay teenager and to feature a gay kiss
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Kerr Smith said the gay kiss on Dawson’s Creek was a ‘part of history’.
The popular 1990s TV series catapulted the careers of James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams and marked the first time that a major network series featured an openly gay teenager in Jack McPhee – played by Kerr Smith.
And the trailblazing TV show was the first ever to feature a kiss between two male characters and while speaking to TooFab, Smith opened up about being part of the history making show.
He said: “[Series creator Kevin Williamson] said, ‘Kerr, let’s go get some coffee’, I went, ‘Oh no, am I fired?’
“And he throws this idea, ‘We want to go down a different avenue with Jack.’
“We were the first ones to do that. It was a crazy experience back then . . . look at every single show now, it’s pretty amazing.
“There’s always a gay storyline, a lesbian storyline or whatever.
“I was talking to Casey [Cott, who plays gay student Kevin on Riverdale] and he’s playing pretty much the same character I played on Dawson’s.”
During the interview, Smith revealed he checked with some of his peers before filming the now iconic kissing scene.
He continued: “I remember calling everybody I respected and said, ‘Hey should I do this?’
“Doing the first male-male kiss, I remember it was intense. I’m glad we did it, and it was part of history.”
Recently creator Kevin Williamson has said no to a reboot of the classic series.