THIRST AID KIT | S4E09 | THE MANY LIVES OF JOSHUA JACKSON
Michael B. Jordan has an important question for you. 👇🏾
Who else was it was going to be? Of course it was supposed to be Pacey! And if we’re talking Pacey and his tousled curls then we must be talking about Joshua Jackson. He’s had a grip on our hearts and [REDACTED] for literal decades. That’s power.
It might feel difficult to separate “Joshua Jackson the actor” from “Pacey Witter the character,” but we managed it in this episode! And it was because of this: Joshua has been a BUSY bee for a real long time, and has built a career that has seem him traverse both big and little screen as well as stage, over the course of years, in a variety of genres and roles. Real bae behaviour!
Naturally, though, we began with the most iconic. Pacey Witter aka a deeply thoughtful, emotionally intelligent, and arrestingly charming character in age-defining teen show Dawson’s Creek. Statistically, we know not everyone on earth has watched that show, and yet… haven’t they? We place a solid 50% of its impact on young Joshua. What did he do? What didn’t he do?
- “remembered everything”— ✅
- bought Joey a wall — ✅
- showcased an emotional maturity that imprinted on us viewers in a way that would go on to potentially ruin us for all other men — ✅and ✅
Teen (and beyond) heart capture aside, we were also interested in what Joshua’s been up to since Capeside. So we spent a little time on his role as Blaine in another late 90s banger, Cruel Intentions, and then we thought about his years-long stint on Fringe. Did you all watch Fringe? As Peter Bishop, Joshua served up some of the most affecting work of his career, as a man who was learning to reconnect with a father who had been by turns absent, distant, loving, neglectful, and confusing. Plus he and Anna Torv had this… chemistry. It was a role in which he didn’t get to play as “big” or showy as many of his co-stars and yet it was his quiet, effective and utterly naturalistic acting that made him stand out all the more. Just… if you haven’t already, go watch Fringe. OK?
We alighted on his sexy, rough-edged time as Cole Lockhart on The Affair, which confirmed a few things for us, and planted the seed the others. 👀
The thing about Joshua (not Josh!) is that he has the range. Boy can act! Both os us went to see him on Broadway in the revival of Children of a Lesser God, and met (and chatted briefly with!) him at stage door and well, achievement unlocked. Everything he did on that stage was grounded in his utter ease — he is such a natural, quiet performer that the fireworks are internal, escaping in his physicality, his tone, his expressions. Whew, what a cocktail. Bless you, Joshua Jackson, for bringing a preternaturally mature persona into the cinematic arts and the thirst arena at large. You make our eyes shine and our [REDACTED] tingle. 😛
We also did the usual Fanfic Wars, (which you can vote for over ob our Twitter poll). Listen to the whole episode RIGHT HERE (more ways to listen are listed below).
SOME STUFF TO WATCH AND READ, IF YOU LIKE!
We’re on Twitter at @bimadew and @tnwhiskeywoman; the show is on Twitter at @thirstaidkit. Send us your (short! please!) drabbles at thirstaidkit@slate.com. Feel free to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, if you have some time, thanks!
Anyway, COME ON THE SHOW, JOSHUA!
Stay thirsty, thirst-buckets. We love you! 🥤💦
