 Michelle Williams, like her character Jennifer Lindley on DAWSON'S CREEK, made the transition from big city to small town life. The 19-year-old actress moved from Los Angeles to Wilmington, North Carolina, the production location for the series. Williams says that "having the experience of moving from a big city to a small town does make it easier to relate to Jen."
Williams explains that her character "is an outsider who came to Capeside from a fast-paced New York lifestyle. Ostensibly she's come to help her strict grandmother, but she's hiding a troubled past that everyone soon found out about. More sophisticated and worldly than the other three teen characters, she's an old soul, having done a lot and grown up fast. I think a part of Jen is really looking to regain her innocence, and she wants to fit in with these more carefree kids. She made some mistakes, and got sent to Capeside by her parents in hopes that she'd begin to realize she should slow down and change her ways, but it's an ongoing battle for her to do so."
While Williams may be a bit homesick for big city life herself, she is no stranger to the country,having grown up in an idyllic spot in Montana. After her family moved to San Diego, she took advantage of the proximity of Hollywood to explore an acting career, which quickly took off. At 16, after obtaining an accelerated high school degree, she moved to Los Angeles full time to pursue her craft.
Williams currently appears in the film "Dick," in which she co-stars with Kirsten Dunst in a comedy about two White House interns during the Nixon era who inadvertantly become embroiled in Watergate. Last year, Williams co-starred with Jamie Lee Curtis in the hit horror film "Halloween: H20." Previously she portrayed Michelle Pfeiffer's daughter in Propaganda Films' "A Thousand Acres" also starring Jessica Lange and Jason Robards. Williams has also appeared in numerous theater productions, and on her most recent hiatus she made waves Off-Broadway starring in the hit play "Killer Joe." For television, she recently wrapped a lead role in "If These Walls Could Talk 2," a three-part film also starring Sharon Stone and Ellen DeGeneres for HBO. Starring in the "Women Only" portion of the film, Williams portrays a gay, feminist co-ed. Her other television experience includes guest appearances on series including "Step By Step" and "Home Improvement," as well as roles in the television movies "A Mother's Justice" and "Killing Mr. Griffin." Her additional feature film credits include "Species," "Lassie" and "Time Master."
While living in Wilmington to shoot DAWSON'S CREEK, Williams enjoys reading as many books as she can in her spare time.
Click here to see Jen's character updates.
|
