# Kerr Smith
**Kerr Smith** (Kerr Van Cleve Smith, born 1972) is an American actor best known for playing Jack McPhee on the WB teen drama *Dawson's Creek* from 1998 to 2003, a role that included what is widely described as the first loving kiss between two men on primetime network television.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith) • [2](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/kerr-smith-adam-kaufman-on-dawsons-creek-kiss-that-changed-tv/) He later held recurring roles on *Charmed*, *Life Unexpected*, *[The Fosters](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-fosters-american-tv-series)*, and *Riverdale*, and appeared in the horror film *Final Destination* (2000).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1972, Exton, Pennsylvania, USA[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith) |
| Education | University of Vermont, class of 1994, dual degree in finance and accounting[4](https://www.uvmfoundation.org/stories/alumni-spotlight%3A-kerr-smith-%2794) |
| Signature role | Jack McPhee on *Dawson's Creek*, 1998–2003, 113 episodes[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) |
| Historic scene | The season 3 finale "True Love" (May 2000) carried what was described as the first loving kiss between two men on primetime television, with Adam Kaufman as Ethan[2](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/kerr-smith-adam-kaufman-on-dawsons-creek-kiss-that-changed-tv/) |
| Notable films | *Final Destination* (2000) as Carter Horton; *The Forsaken* (2001); *My Bloody Valentine* (2009) as Axel Palmer[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith) |
| Later TV | Kyle Brody on *Charmed* (2004–2005), Ryan Thomas on *Life Unexpected* (2010), Robert Quinn on *The Fosters* (2014–2018), Principal Holden Honey on *Riverdale* (2019–2020)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) |
| Off screen | Co-owner of the Venice Beach Beer Company; licensed pilot and brewmaster; writing a memoir on his *Dawson's Creek* years[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) • [4](https://www.uvmfoundation.org/stories/alumni-spotlight%3A-kerr-smith-%2794) |
## Early life and start in acting
Smith grew up in Exton, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Henderson High School in 1990.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) At the [University of Vermont](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-vermont) he pursued a dual degree in finance and accounting rather than theater; university stage productions were limited to theater majors at the time, though an acting teacher in his sophomore year of high school had already drawn him back to performing.[4](https://www.uvmfoundation.org/stories/alumni-spotlight%3A-kerr-smith-%2794)
After graduating he and his father started a marketing firm, but Smith found he was more suited to the performance side of his sales presentations than to selling, and he moved to New York City to try acting.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith) His first screen appearance was as an extra in the film *12 Monkeys* (1995), and in 1996 he landed a one-year stint as teen heartthrob Ryder Hughes on the CBS soap opera *As the World Turns*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith) After about two and a half years in New York, working also on the films *Hit and Runway* and *Kiss and Tell*, he drove to Los Angeles.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) • [4](https://www.uvmfoundation.org/stories/alumni-spotlight%3A-kerr-smith-%2794)
## Dawson's Creek and the kiss heard on network television
Smith landed the role of Jack McPhee on *Dawson's Creek* after being in Los Angeles for only seven weeks.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) A general meeting with Kathleen Letterie, head casting director at the Warner Brothers network, ended with her telling him she would find a place for him on the network; seven weeks later he flew to [Wilmington, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/wilmington-north-carolina), to shoot the show alongside [Meredith Monroe](https://www.edgepedia.org/meredith-monroe), who played his sister Andie.[4](https://www.uvmfoundation.org/stories/alumni-spotlight%3A-kerr-smith-%2794) Jack was introduced in the second season as a love interest for [Joey Potter](https://www.edgepedia.org/joey-potter) (Katie Holmes).[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2010-02-15/kerr-smith-on-being-life-unexpecteds-voice-of-reason-and-the-end-of-dawsons)
Halfway through his first season on the show, Jack came out, becoming one of the first openly gay teen characters on television.[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2010-02-15/kerr-smith-on-being-life-unexpecteds-voice-of-reason-and-the-end-of-dawsons) Smith has said he was not hired to play a gay character; the part was originally designed to create a love triangle between Dawson, Joey, and Jack, and series creator Kevin Williamson surprised him with the new direction over coffee.[6](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/65849-kerr-smith-on-jack-mcphee-from-dawsons-creek-what-it-was-like-playing-an-lgbt) • [7](https://www.out.com/television/2019/10/17/dawsons-creek-star-says-tvs-first-gay-kiss-part-history) Smith recalled calling people he respected to ask whether he should take the storyline, and later said he was glad the show did it and that the moment "was a part of history."[7](https://www.out.com/television/2019/10/17/dawsons-creek-star-says-tvs-first-gay-kiss-part-history)
The defining scene came in the season 3 finale, "True Love," aired in May 2000, in which Jack kissed Ethan, an openly gay college student played by Adam Kaufman. *Us Weekly*, interviewing Smith, Kaufman, and episode co-writer Gina Fattore on the 20th anniversary, described it as the first-ever loving kiss between two men on primetime television; Fattore recalled that the day before filming, the WB asked whether the scene could be shot from across the street so it would not look "too passionate."[2](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/kerr-smith-adam-kaufman-on-dawsons-creek-kiss-that-changed-tv/) A second, longer kiss followed on May 2, 2001, between Jack and his lover Tobey (David Monahan); a GLAAD spokesman timed it at five and a half seconds and said network TV had shown nothing like it before.[8](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/story?id=105866&page=1) Smith later said he experienced almost no negative fan reaction, apart from picketers outside the North Carolina studio.[6](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/65849-kerr-smith-on-jack-mcphee-from-dawsons-creek-what-it-was-like-playing-an-lgbt) In the 2003 series finale, the dying Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) asked Jack to raise her daughter, making Jack a father in the show's last episode.[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2010-02-15/kerr-smith-on-being-life-unexpecteds-voice-of-reason-and-the-end-of-dawsons)
## Film and later television
While on *Dawson's Creek*, Smith played Carter Horton in the teen horror film *Final Destination* (2000) and starred in *The Forsaken* (2001).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith) His later film work included *Cruel Intentions 3* (2004) and Axel Palmer in *My Bloody Valentine* (2009), the highest-rated film of his career on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes at 63 percent.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith)
On television he built a steady run of recurring parts: Kyle Brody on *Charmed* (2004–2005), roles across the *CSI* and *NCIS* franchises, [Ryan Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-thomas) on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *Life Unexpected* (2010), Robert Quinn on *The Fosters* (2014–2018), and Principal Holden Honey on *Riverdale* (2019–2020), a series that frequently paid homage to the teen dramas that preceded it.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) • [9](https://www.tvline.com/2020359/what-happened-dawsons-creek-cast/) In a 2010 interview he described Ryan as "the voice of reason" of *Life Unexpected*, the adult who keeps the other characters on track.[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2010-02-15/kerr-smith-on-being-life-unexpecteds-voice-of-reason-and-the-end-of-dawsons)
## Reunions and current projects
In September 2025 Smith joined Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Meredith Monroe, Busy Philipps, and other former castmates at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre for a live reading of the 1998 *Dawson's Creek* pilot, a benefit for the F Cancer organization supporting [James Van Der Beek](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-van-der-beek), who was then battling colorectal cancer.[10](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/kerr-smith-writing-dawsons-creek-book-jack-and-doug-spinoff-script/) After Van Der Beek's death in February 2026, Smith described him as a "brother" whom he would miss deeply.[11](https://time.com/7377940/james-van-der-beek-death-dawsons-creek-tributes-cancer-fundraiser/)
Smith is writing a memoir about his time on the show, titled *I Don't Want to Wait: My Journey on Dawson's Creek*, set for release in 2026, and has also written a script for a Jack and Doug spinoff.[12](https://metacast.app/podcast/pod-meets-world/ZscRp9Cd/kerr-smith-meets-world/S9V2Sb5e) • [10](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/kerr-smith-writing-dawsons-creek-book-jack-and-doug-spinoff-script/) Away from acting he became a licensed pilot and a brewmaster, and he is co-owner of the Venice Beach Beer Company.[4](https://www.uvmfoundation.org/stories/alumni-spotlight%3A-kerr-smith-%2794) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/) He married the actor Harmoni Everett in 2003; the marriage ended in divorce in 2009.[13](https://www.bustle.com/articles/84460-dawsons-creek-gay-kiss-aired-15-years-ago-but-where-is-kerr-smith-now)
## Legacy of the Jack McPhee role
The Jack McPhee storyline is regularly cited in accounts of LGBTQ representation on American television. A GLAAD report on The WB described Jack as the network's groundbreaking gay character, and academic work on queer television has treated his season 2 coming-out, expressed through a series of verbal confirmations, as a landmark of identity-based representation in teen drama.[14](https://media.glaad.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/10053137/2007-08-NRI-e9a.pdf) • [15](https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11113/1/Queer_Television_Thesis_FINAL_DRAFT_amended_date_and_footnotes.pdf) Smith has said he is still recognized as Jack, and that he understands why viewers who went through the same situation identify with the character; comparing his era with the present, he has pointed to shows like *The Fosters*, where a gay storyline plays out at a much younger age than Jack's did, as a measure of how much has changed.[6](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/65849-kerr-smith-on-jack-mcphee-from-dawsons-creek-what-it-was-like-playing-an-lgbt)
## References
1. [Kerr Smith Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/kerr_smith)
2. [Dawson's Creek's TV-Changing Kiss Aired 20 Years Ago: Kerr Smith, Adam Kaufman and Writer Gina Fattore Look Back, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/kerr-smith-adam-kaufman-on-dawsons-creek-kiss-that-changed-tv/)
3. [Kerr Smith, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005445/)
4. [Alumni Spotlight: Kerr Smith '94, University of Vermont Foundation](https://www.uvmfoundation.org/stories/alumni-spotlight%3A-kerr-smith-%2794)
5. [Kerr Smith on being 'Life Unexpected's' voice of reason, and the end of 'Dawson's', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2010-02-15/kerr-smith-on-being-life-unexpecteds-voice-of-reason-and-the-end-of-dawsons)
6. [Kerr Smith On Jack McPhee From 'Dawson's Creek' & What It Was Like Playing An LGBT Character In The '90s, Bustle](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/65849-kerr-smith-on-jack-mcphee-from-dawsons-creek-what-it-was-like-playing-an-lgbt)
7. ['Dawson's Creek' Star Says TV's First Gay Kiss Is 'Part of History', Out.com](https://www.out.com/television/2019/10/17/dawsons-creek-star-says-tvs-first-gay-kiss-part-history)
8. [GLAAD Heralds Dawson's Kiss, ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/story?id=105866&page=1)
9. [What Happened To The Cast Of Dawson's Creek?, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2020359/what-happened-dawsons-creek-cast/)
10. [Kerr Smith Is Writing a Book About 'Dawson's Creek,' Reveals Script for Jack and Doug Spinoff, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/kerr-smith-writing-dawsons-creek-book-jack-and-doug-spinoff-script/)
11. [Dawson's Creek Cast and Others Pay Tribute to James Van Der Beek, Time](https://time.com/7377940/james-van-der-beek-death-dawsons-creek-tributes-cancer-fundraiser/)
12. [Kerr Smith Meets World, Pod Meets World episode page](https://metacast.app/podcast/pod-meets-world/ZscRp9Cd/kerr-smith-meets-world/S9V2Sb5e)
13. ['Dawson's Creek' Gay Kiss Aired 15 Years Ago, But Where Is Kerr Smith Now?, Bustle](https://www.bustle.com/articles/84460-dawsons-creek-gay-kiss-aired-15-years-ago-but-where-is-kerr-smith-now)
14. [GLAAD Network Responsibility Index 2007-2008](https://media.glaad.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/10053137/2007-08-NRI-e9a.pdf)
15. [Queer Television thesis, University of Nottingham eprints](https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11113/1/Queer_Television_Thesis_FINAL_DRAFT_amended_date_and_footnotes.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Sm to Su*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license