The cast of Dawson’s Creek has been brutally honest about the amount of money — or lack thereof — that came from working on the popular TV show.
Dawson’s Creek, which aired from 1998 to 2003, centered around Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek), his “soulmate” Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) and best friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson). (In addition to the trio, the hit series also starred Michelle Williams, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, Busy Philipps and more.)
Over the years, the cast has reunited and spoken candidly about their time on the show. They have also shown each other support — especially after Van Der Beek revealed he was battling stage III colon cancer. Van Der Beek’s former costars came together to host a live reading of the Dawson’s Creek pilot in September 2025, with the funds going toward cancer funds and his hospital bills.
“This is the evening I’d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January… So you can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment,” Van Der Beek wrote via Instagram after having to miss the event while healing from an illness. “Despite every effort … I won’t get to be there. I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most.”
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He continued: “I can’t believe I’m not there. I can’t believe I don’t get to hug my castmates, my beautiful cast, in person, and I just wanted to stand on that stage and thank every single person in this theater for being here tonight — from the cast to the crew to everybody who donated their time and has been so generous. And especially every single last one of you. You’re the best fans in the world. Thank you for coming.”
After the fundraising event, Van Der Beek continued to raise money by selling memorabilia from his time on Dawson’s Creek. The actor previously opened up about the harsh reality of starring on a hit series in his 20s.
Keep scrolling for what the Dawson’s Creek cast revealed about their salaries — and residuals — from the show:
James Van Der Beek
“There was no residual money,” he told Today in 2012. “I was 20. It was a bad contract. I saw almost nothing from that.”
Van Der Beek recalled his view on which roles to accept shifting amid his Dawson’s Creek fame.
“You are incredibly fortunate whatever success falls on you, which is what happened with me,” he noted. “But as soon as that happens, I think there is a tendency to feel like you have something to lose. Or something to protect. That can often lead to taking yourself a little too seriously.”
He continued: “It is very easy if you have all the money in the world to just sit back and coast. But if you realized that you are going to have to start providing for yourself and for your family, it really forces you to buckle down.”
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Joshua Jackson
Jackson, meanwhile, had a different experience from Van Der Beek.
“I wouldn’t want to go back to my twenties again, that amount of angst. I would make more money doing four episodes of Dawson’s Creek than most of my friends’ parents made in a year,” he told The Times in 2023. “That was the center of my imposter syndrome: ‘You’re trying to set me up to be a role model to kids, and I definitely am not, and you’re paying me all this money that I don’t deserve.’”
