How Dawson's Creek pulled off Joshua Jackson's viral basketball-to-the-face scene
On April 12, a random clip from the classic teen drama Dawson’s Creek popped off on Twitter, going viral and sparking a discussion and Zapruder-like break down.
In the scene, Dawson (James Van Der Beek) is furious with Pacey (Joshua Jackson) over something that is surely angsty and blown out of proportion. After taking a barb from Pacey, Dawson launches the basketball he’s holding at his friend’s face. The ball loudly hits Pacey before ricocheting back into the camera and bouncing away.
Jackson was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on April 25, so naturally the topic came up. After many laughs and watching the clip, Jackson shared some background information on the 25-year-old scene.
“They loved it so much, they did one or two more takes is my recollection.”
.@VancityJax reacts to trending on Twitter for a flashback #DawsonsCreek clip #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/XfZASSkNH0
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) April 26, 2023
“You know Twitter has its ups and downs,” Jackson explained on the moment he found out the show — and he — were trending. “One of the things I love about Twitter is that, man, people get into it. So when I finally did get back to my trailer and realized I hadn’t screwed up, I wasn’t dead and my career wasn’t over — all good things — there’s like a forensic analysis of this 25-year-old TV show.”
Turns out, it wasn’t even a basketball. “This was just a beach ball painted like a basketball that got bounced off my face.”
While that mystery has been cleared up, I have a new question. How did Van Der Beek get so much speed on a beach ball?