Joshua Jackson is giving major Pacey Witter vibes in his audiobook narration of Jenny Holiday’s new novel — and Dawson’s Creek fans are here for it.
Canadian Boyfriend, which hit shelves in January, follows Aurora Evans as she comes face to face with the fake love interest she made up as a teenager. Shortly after the book was released, it was announced that Jackson, 45, would be portraying the love interest, Mike Martin, while Emily Ellet would read for Aurora.
Jackson is far from a rookie in terms of narration; he’s featured on more than six audiobooks that are currently available online. It’s Jackson’s portrayal of Mike, however, that has caused a frenzy among book lovers who were instantly reminded of his days as Dawson Leery’s (James Van Der Beek) best friend.
While Mike is a single father and widow— not exactly the beat-for-beat life story of Pacey — the characters share DNA in their sensitive natures and ability to act as the perfect male love interest. (Mike is also a professional hockey player, an additional ode to Jackson’s role in 1992’s The Mighty Ducks.)
“This feels like such a full circle moment since he was such a crush of mine as a tween,” one person wrote via X of the narration, while another added, “I ordered [this] book SO FAST today!”
Fans were just as thrilled over on TikTok, with one listener writing, “For someone who reads Pacey Witter fanfics, Joshua Jackson narrating is tops.” A third said, “Gahhh, did someone say Joshua Jackson??? Pacey Witter, you stole my heart!”
“Joshua Jackson as the voice of the perfect book boyfriend?” a fourth person gushed via Instagram. “The man wrote the book on how to portray a perfect boyfriend. Download the audiobook for this one and thank me later.”
After making a name for himself in The Mighty Ducks, Jackson was cast as the sarcastic but lovable Pacey Witter on Dawson’s Creek in 1998. While he was introduced as Dawson’s best friend, the twosome eventually came to blows over their mutual love for Joey Potter (Katie Holmes). When Joey ultimately chose Pacey in season 3, the pair became an instant fan favorite duo — and changed the course of the story forever.
“I didn’t realize how many people wanted Pacey and Joey together,” creator Kevin Williamson told Entertainment Weekly in May 2022. “Because I always thought everyone was kinda like, ‘It’s Dawson and Joey. Everyone knows it’s gonna be Dawson and Joey.’ When I finally shifted it to Pacey and Joey, people came out of the closet going, ‘OK, I’m so glad that happened. They so belong together.’”
Williamson departed as showrunner after season 2 but returned to write the two-part series finale in 2003, where he decided in the final moments that Pacey had won over too many hearts to not get the girl.
“I know it was a little polarizing; I thought it was gonna be extremely polarizing,” Williamson joked of the choice, which is revealed in the final scene of the show.
Jackson, for his part, told the outlet that the shift in narrative gave him a new sense of vitality when it came to showing up for work — especially because he got to work alongside Holmes. (Jackson and Holmes dated during season 1, but called it quits after a brief romance.)
“I remember being most excited about the episode where Katie and I. It’s just the two of us, we’re stuck in a Walmart or something after hours,” he said, referring to a season 6 episode that features Joey and Pacey get locked in a store overnight. “In the sort of slug of doing television, it was so nice for her and I to have the opportunity to get the script ahead of time and then be able to really work on it and have that playtime together. So that’s the one that really sticks out in my memory.”
As for Pacey getting his happily ever after with Joey? Jackson couldn’t be happier with how the story turned out.
“I am the advocate!,” he quipped. “I had a whole conversation with Kevin [Williamson] about this. Like ‘Look, I get it. This is the idea that you had in your head [to have Dawson and Joey end up together], but I’m just gonna ask you to watch the tale of the tape and this is the more interesting end for these characters.'”
