The series stars James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery, an aspiring film maker. Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson portray his childhood best friends Joey Potter and Pacey Witter respectively. Michelle Williams plays Jen Lindley, the new girl who moved from New York City to Capeside. Kerr Smith plays Jack McPhee, a teen who struggles with his sexuality; Meredith Monroe plays overachiever Andie McPhee; and Busy Philipps plays Joey's college roommate Audrey Liddell. Rounding out the cast are Mary-Margaret Humes and John Wesley Shipp as Gail and Mitch Leery, Dawson's parents; Nina Repeta as Bessie Potter, Joey's older sister and legal guardian due to their mother's fatal cancer and father's incarceration for blue-collar crime; and Mary Beth Peil as Evelyn "Grams" Ryan, Jen's maternal grandmother and legal guardian in Capeside.