Joshua Jackson

Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is an American and Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayals of Pacey Witter on The WB's teen drama ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the Fox science fiction series ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), a troubled married man on Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2018), and Christopher Duntsch in the Peacock crime drama series '' Dr. Death'' (2021-present). For the last of these, he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor. His other credits include ''When They See Us'' (2019), '' Little Fires Everywhere'' (2020), and '' Doctor Odyssey'' (2024).

Outside of television, he came to prominence with his role in the ''Mighty Ducks'' film series (1992–1996). His other film appearances include ''Apt Pupil'' (1998), ''Urban Legend'' (1998), '' Cruel Intentions'' (1999), '' The Skulls'' (2000), ''Gossip'' (2000), ''The Safety of Objects'' (2001), ''The Laramie Project'' (2002), '' Cursed'' (2005), '' Bobby'' (2006), and '' Shutter'' (2008). For his performance in the Canadian independent drama '' One Week'' (2008), Jackson won the Genie Award for Best Actor.

Early life

Jackson was born on June 11, 1978, in Vancouver, British Columbia to parents John and Fiona. His mother is a casting director. Jackson's father is from Texas, and his mother is a native of Ballyfermot, a surburb of Dublin, Ireland. She immigrated to North America in the late 1960s. He has a younger sister, Aisleagh, and two older half brothers, Jonathan and Lyman. He was raised Roman Catholic.

Jackson lived in California until the age of 8 when he moved to Vancouver with his mother and younger sister; he has said that his father was a bad parent and husband and abandoned the family when they were in the U.S. He attended Ideal Mini School and later switched to Kitsilano Secondary School. He attended high school with actor Ryan Reynolds.

Career

Jackson started acting in a small role in the film ''Crooked Hearts'' in 1991. The next year, he played the role of Charlie in a musical version of ''Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory''. At this point, with the help of the play's casting director Laura Kennedy, he joined the William Morris Agency. Soon after, he landed the role of Charlie (#96) in '' The Mighty Ducks'' series, playing a young and aspiring hockey player.

Jackson went on to appear as Pacey Witter on ''Dawson's Creek'', which was created by Kevin Williamson and ran on the WB network from 1998 to 2003, and also starred James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams, and Katie Holmes. While the show was on hiatus, he appeared in several movies including '' Cruel Intentions'' (an adaptation of ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' that also starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe), '' The Skulls'', ''The Safety of Objects'', ''The Laramie Project'' and a short cameo in the remake of ''Ocean's Eleven'' in which he appears as himself in a poker scene with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Holly Marie Combs. In 2000, he also guest-starred in Season 12 of ''The Simpsons'', voicing the character of Jesse Grass, a "hunky environmentalist" and love interest for Lisa Simpson in the episode " Lisa the Tree Hugger". He also was cast as "Beau" in the movie ''Gossip'' in 2000 with actors James Marsden, Kate Hudson and Norman Reedus.

Shortly after ''Dawson's Creek'' ended in 2003, Jackson played the lead role in films alongside Dennis Hopper ('' Americano''), Harvey Keitel ('' Shadows in the Sun''), and Donald Sutherland (''Aurora Borealis''). In 2005, Jackson moved to the UK and made his stage debut on the London West End with Patrick Stewart in David Mamet's two-man play, '' A Life in the Theatre''. The play was a critical and popular success, and ran from February to April of that year. Jackson said that he would consider returning to the stage, to try his hand on Broadway. His next film role was in '' Bobby'', directed by Emilio Estevez, Jackson's co-star from '' The Mighty Ducks''. He played a lead role in '' Shutter'', a U.S. remake of film of the same name. He starred and acted as executive producer in the Canadian independent film '' One Week'', which opened on March 6, 2009.

From 2008 to 2013, Jackson played the lead role of Peter Bishop in the science-fiction series ''Fringe'', created by J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The series was the second-highest rated new show of the 2008–2009 season after ''The Mentalist''. BuddyTV ranked him #9 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2010" list, #19 in 2011 and #14 in 2012.

Jackson was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the film '' One Week''. He won the award on April 12, 2010. He held and hosted the satirical Pacey-Con in 2010, directly across the street from the Comic-Con, sporting a bowling shirt and giving out fan fiction, written by ''Dawson's Creek'' fans, to those waiting in the Comic-Con entrance line. Footage of the event was recorded for a video, entitled 'Pacey-Con', which he was filming for Will Ferrell's Funny or Die celebrity humor website. In 2013, Jackson appeared in the IFC film '' Inescapable'' with Marisa Tomei and Alexander Siddig. Jackson wrote the first story from the comic book trilogy ''Beyond the Fringe'', titled "Peter and the Machine". Jackson starred in the successful television show '' The Affair'', where he played Cole Lockhart, the protagonist husband of the unfaithful Alison Lockhart.

In March 2018, Jackson made his theatrical debut on Broadway in '' Children of a Lesser God'', where he played James Leeds, an unconventional teacher at a school for the deaf who gets in a conflicted professional and romantic relationship with a deaf former student, Sarah Norman ( Lauren Ridloff). The play ran through May 2018.

In 2019, Jackson starred as defense attorney Mickey Joseph in the miniseries ''When They See Us''.

In 2020, Jackson co-starred with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in the miniseries ''Little Fires Everywhere'' based on the novel by Celeste Ng.

Jackson was cast as Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a neurosurgeon who was convicted of intentionally maiming his patient, in ''Dr. Death'' which was based on the podcast of the same name, replacing Jamie Dornan.

In 2023, Jackson played the lead in the series ''Fatal Attraction'' with Lizzy Caplan, inspired by the 1980s thriller film of the same name.

Personal life

Jackson was in a relationship with ''Dawson's Creek'' co-star Katie Holmes during the first two seasons of the show's run. Holmes said that Jackson was her first love.

From 2006 to 2016, he was in a relationship with German actress Diane Kruger.

Jackson began a relationship with actress Jodie Turner-Smith in 2018. They married on August 18, 2019.
On April 13, 2020, the couple welcomed their daughter. In October 2023, it was revealed that Turner-Smith had filed for divorce from Jackson.

In December 2023, Jackson and fellow actor Lupita Nyong'o confirmed they are dating. In October 2024, Nyong'o announced they were no longer together.

Jackson owns his childhood home in Topanga, California.
In 2025, the house burned down during the Palisades Fire. He previously lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, where ''Dawson's Creek'' was filmed, and in New York City, where ''Fringe'' filmed its first season. In 2009, he moved back to Vancouver to shoot four seasons of the show before the last episode was aired on January 18, 2013.

Jackson is a fan of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team.
and he is also a fan of the San Francisco 49ers football team.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0Ity_9DNtk

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Joshua Jackson
on '' The Hour'' with George Stroumboulopoulos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Joshua
1978 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
20th-century Canadian male actors
21st-century American male actors
21st-century Canadian male actors
American comics writers
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of Canadian descent
American people of Irish descent
American Roman Catholics
American television directors
Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Canadian comics writers
Canadian male child actors
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male television actors
Canadian male voice actors
Canadian people of American descent
Canadian people of Irish descent
Canadian Roman Catholics
Canadian television directors
Male actors from California
Male actors from North Carolina
Male actors from Seattle
Male actors from Vancouver
People charged with assault
Entertainers from Topanga, California
Writers from Los Angeles County, California
Writers from Seattle
Writers from Vancouver