Here's What John Wesley Shipp Has Been Up To Since 'Dawson's Creek
When people think about Dawson's Creek, they picture the Dawson/Joey/Pacey love triangle or share strong opinions about the finale episode. But while the teenage characters are always dealing with drama and problems, the adult characters are beloved as well. Dawson's father, Mitch Leery, is a particularly important Dawson's Creek character. It's heartbreaking to watch Mitch and Gail deal with Gail's infidelity early on in the show. And it's even worse to remember that Mitch died while trying to grab some ice cream that fell by his feet while he was driving.
While many fans are still shocked by this confusing death, John Wesley Shipp did a great job portraying this character. While Mitch didn't always understand his son, Mitch did his best to support and love Dawson, and his death affected Dawson terribly. Keep reading to find out what John Wesley Shipp has been up to since starring on Dawson's Creek.
John Wesley Shipp Played Eddie On 'One Life To Live'
While fans have gotten an update on James Van Deer Beek's life, Dawson's Creek fans might not know that John Wesley Shipp has a background in soap operas. He played Blanchard Lovelace on One Life To Live and in 2010, he came back to that show and played the character of Eddie Ford.
Eddie was murdered, which is definitely a dramatic storyline: according to TV Guide, Matthew Buchanan killed Eddie Ford. Two of John Wesley Shipp's most popular and famous characters have been killed in extreme ways as Eddie was murdered and Mitch died in a car accident that was definitely unique.
In an interview with Soaps.sheknows.com, John Wesley Shipp said that it was amazing coming back to soap operas as he remembered being young and working in the genre in New York City.
The actor shared that he liked knowing that his character wouldn't be on the show for very long as this gave him a chance to be really creative. He liked it because he didn't need to be a "likable" character. John Wesley Shipp explained, "It was a limited contract, which was attractive to me. On a limited deal you can push the envelope. You don’t have to worry about surviving likability when the character offends fans."
John Wesley Shipp Also Starred On 'The Flash'
John Wesley Shipp has also been busy playing the character of Henry Allen on The Flash. He is Barry Allen's dad and also plays Jay Garrick.
When talking about playing Henry Allen on The Flash, John Wesley Shipp told Entertainment Weekly that he really enjoyed acting out the scenes of Henry and Barry Allen. He said, "I can't imagine father-son scenes — and I've played quite a few — being more beautifully and sensitively written than the first two seasons of CW Flash between Henry and Barry. Those are some of the richest, most personal experiences I've had in my entire career."
It's interesting for fans to hear this since Mitch and Dawson Leery had many sweet father/son scenes as well.
The actor also said that he filmed 55-80 hours each week when he started on The Flash and it sounds like it's been a really rewarding experience.
The 'Dawson's Creek Reunion
When the cast of Dawson's Creek got together again to star in an Entertainment Weekly cover story, fans were thrilled to hear stories about the beloved show. Unfortunately, though, not everyone was involved. Before too long, people realized that two stars were missing: Mary-Margaret Humes, who played Dawson's mom Gail Leery, and John Wesley Shipp.
In March 2018, Mary-Margaret Humes explained in an Instagram post that they didn't know anything about the reunion: "This was their choice...not ours...it was done behind our backs and we both were literally blindsided by it when we woke up yesterday in NYC and LA...we both did a short telephone interview after the fact but were never told about the reunion."
According to Today.com, Katie Holmes posted on her own Instagram and talked about her love for both actors: "Mary Margaret and John were such a huge and important part of #dawsonscreek. I am so grateful to have worked with them and experience their kindness ... thank you for taking such good care of us. I love you both."
Not much is known about John Wesley Shipp's personal life as the actor appears to be single. He posts a lot on Twitter and Instagram and often shares photos from the projects that he's starring in. The actor is also very politically active and often talks about important issues on his Twitter feed.
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