The WB, Getty ImagesDawson Leery was almost…Vincent Chase!
The Beek himself, James Van Der Beek, revealed to E! News that Entourage star Adrian Grenier tested for both the role of Dawson and Pacey (which went to Joshua Jackson) on Dawson's Creek. Obviously, Grenier didn't land the role, but he made it pretty far into the casting process.
"I think he's doing OK," James said with a laugh at the TCA Press Tour while promoting his new CBS comedy Friends With Better Lives. "I think he ended up doing just fine!"
That all went down in 1998, and six years later, Grenier ended up starring as the leading man on HBO's Entourage from 2004 to 2011.
All's well that ends well, right? But that doesn't mean the casting process was comfortable.
"They wanted me to play 15 years old and I was 20," Van Der Beek recalls, "and I thought 'I am way too old!' And then they fly me out to Los Angeles, and they sat me on a plane next to [Grenier], which was awkward, because I knew him, too. And then I read for the part in front of [creator] Kevin Williamson and Sony didn't want to cast me. And Kevin had to fight for me. And then said, 'Fine, fine but make him get a haircut!' So I got a haircut and the rest is kind of kismet."
And cue the sad trombone for Creek fans, because Van Der Beek also told E! News that there will never, ever be a Dawson's Creek reunion, echoing what Williamson told reporters earlier in the week.
"I think Kevin was speaking the truth for everybody," Van Der Beek said. "Listen, it's so flattering that anyone even cares about work we did 15 years ago, it really is. No one wants to insult the fans or take away anything. But the truth is, it's not in the works. I don't mean to break the news, but yeah, I think everybody is really kind of happy with where they're at."
He's also convinced a Dawson's reunion would be disappointing. "Artistically, I don't think fans would really want it, I really don't," he said. "I don't think there's a way to make it work creatively and if Kevin says it's a no then it's never ever happening. It's tough to bring Michelle [Williams] back from the dead, that's number one. And also it's tough for me to even remember how to play that character, so I'd have to do some homework."
As for what Dawson Leery is up to now?
"Honestly, that's a question that I just can't answer!" James told us. "Because I don't think about it or think about him. Honestly, you would be so much better off asking a fan of the show, they could give you some really amazing fan fiction."
We'll start you off. Dawson, Pacey and Vincent Chase are all living together in a triplex….