Oliver Hudson will never forget his experience playing Eddie Doling on Dawson’s Creek.
“I could never remember any of my character’s names, but for some reason I remember that one,” Hudson, 49, told Us Weekly exclusively in the first installment of the new Just Like Us video series.
Eddie was introduced as Katie Holmes’ character Joey Potter’s love interest during the show’s sixth and final season.
“Working with her and on such an iconic show was very, very cool,” he recalled. “Adjusting to the dialog was interesting because it was such specific, witty, snappy dialog.”
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The entire experience was “great,” according to Hudson, who said he “met a ton of really fun people” on that set.
“I had so much fun. I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina. I lived right on the beach,” he added. “I was fishing and surfing, and I had a basketball court right behind me, so there was that part of it.”
And, yes, he has watched the show since it ended. (Dawson’s Creek ran for six seasons from 1998 to 2003.)
“I show my kids. I’m like, ‘Look at me.’ They’re like, ‘Oh my God, Dad.’ I’m 24 [or] 25 years old, it’s crazy,” Hudson told Us. “It’s unbelievable to them how young I look, and it’s unbelievable to me too.”
Hudson shares three kids — sons Wilder, 18, and Bodhi, 15, along with daughter Rio, 12 — with wife Erinn Bartlett.
Hudson reflected on his acting career as a whole during the interview, explaining that he actually got started in the entertainment industry kind of late in life — and he only started performing. “because my whole family did it,” Hudson admitted.(Hudson’s mother is Goldie Hawn, stepfather is Kurt Russell and sister is Kate Hudson, just to name a few of his famous family members.)
“Yes, you get the foot in the door, but those expectations, they’re raised for you,” Oliver explained when discussing what it’s like to come from a famous family. “The lights might be a little brighter when you walk into a room, just to see how this person does, given the fact that they’ve come from this place. I never thought about that.”
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Initially, Oliver “took the opportunity” to act but only “half-assed” it.
“I knew that when I didn’t get the job, I could use the excuse — consciously or subconsciously — of ‘I didn’t give it 100 percent.’ I just didn’t like the rejection,” he said.
Things in his career changed drastically after he decided to move out on his own.
“I just said, ‘I got to get out of here.’ I have to put some pressure on myself. So I got an apartment with a friend. I could barely afford it because I wanted the nice apartment,” Oliver explained. “I got my first television show within three weeks of moving out.”
For more from Oliver’s Just Like Us interview, watch the video above or check out the full episode, here.
