Joshua Jackson turned an awkward moment into a powerful reflection at the New York premiere of Brunello: The Gracious Visionary.
When asked to share the best advice his father ever gave him, the Dawson’s Creek alum, whose dad abandoned his family when he was a child, laughed before answering bluntly, “My father abandoned my family.”
He then added, “The best piece of advice my father accidentally gave me in his absence is to be a good and present father.”
The exchange, captured by interviewer Isaac Hindin Miller, quickly spread online.
Fans were divided between criticizing the question as insensitive and praising Jackson’s heartfelt response.
“Damn Joshua but I love what he said in the end!” one commenter wrote.
The premiere also gave fans a nostalgic moment as Jackson reunited with his former Dawson’s Creek costar Katie Holmes.
The two, who briefly dated in the late ’90s, posed together on the red carpet, laughing and locking arms.
Jackson has long spoken about the impact of his father’s absence.
In a 1998 interview, he described his parents’ divorce as “very traumatic,” crediting his mother Fiona for rebuilding their lives.
More recently, on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast, Jackson revealed he has developed “sympathy” for his late father, reflecting on the pain of estrangement now that he is a parent himself.
“If I ever did anything to estrange my daughter from myself, I would be bereft,” he said.
