› Jack's Flash - March 19 1999
The latest plot twist on 'Dawson's Creek' fooled even the show's actors. Kerr Smith tells EW Online that his character's step out of the closet was a total surprise to him
''Dawson's Creek'' fans who were caught off guard when Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) revealed that he was gay should take note. Series creator Kevin Williamson tells EW Online, ''I plan to go even further with the characters on the show next season as far as coming-of-age stories like Jack's.'' Williamson won't tip his hand, of course, which doesn't surprise ''Dawson's'' cast members, who are still scratching their heads over such recent plot twists as Dawson's split from Joey and Pacey's pairing with Andie. All Kerr Smith has been told by the show's writers is that Jack's future looks bright. ''Apparently there are some pretty good things planned for me next year,'' says the 27-year-old. ''So I hope I'll be in the forefront story-wise.''
Smith is used to being in the dark about the show's story lines. While Williamson admits, ''We brought Jack's character onto the show long before he came out (as being a homosexual) so that we would get to know him first and love him first before we learned this one other aspect of who he is,'' Smith wasn't in on the game plan when he took the part. ''I didn't know we were going this route until October,'' Smith explains.
That's when Williamson sat down with the actor to discuss the change in Jack's character. ''He said, 'Look, I want to go this way with Jack. What do you think?''' remembers Smith. ''And I was in 100 percent. As an actor, you look for challenges like this.''
But that doesn't mean portraying Jack's struggle with homosexuality was easy for Smith. ''On one hand I felt really good about it, but on the other hand I felt kind of scared,'' says Smith. ''A friend told me he read on the Internet about a kid who told his parents he was gay right after watching the show. I wasn't quite ready for that. It's a lot of responsibility, and, not knowing we were going this way when I was cast, I didn't ask for this responsibility. But I've accepted it and we're going ahead. I would like to think we're helping people.''