Fringe's Joshua Jackson, Master of the Universe(s)

Spoilers ahead for those of you not caught up on the show... tread lightly!

I know it's tempting, but I think it's time to stop seeing Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter from Dawson's Creek. Sure he may look the same—with boyish good looks and an air of intelligence—but he's all grown up now, and no longer playing a character who's just trying to find love and happiness in a small Massachusetts hamlet. Instead, as Peter Bishop on Fox's Fringe, he's trying to stop inter-dimensional shape-shifting soldiers from blowing up our entire existence. It's slightly heavier stuff than trying to get into Joey's pants.

The character of Peter has evolved greatly since we first met him, and his relationship with wacky science-guy dad Walter is one of the show's highlights. During a recent Fringe set visit in Vancouver, Jackson—despite suffering from what was called the Fringe virus on set (but what was a really bad case of the flu)—was a real champ and took time out to discuss his role and the second season of Fringe.

TV.com: What's immediately in store for the show?
Joshua Jackson: The next sequence of episodes reveals big things about the characters they focus on. There [was last week's] Broyles episode, there's a Walter episode, and there's an observer episode. And they serve to give you insight into the backstory of each of of these characters.

And is this all leading up to inter-dimensional war?
Yeah, the usual. [Laughs.] I'm not sure that a full-fledged tanks and bombs war is ever where the show is headed. The advanced shapeshifter soldiers that are already here—I think that's more the idea. I think it'll be much more cloak-and-dagger, and not some fleet lands on our shores. I definitely think the show is headed in that direction, and that confrontation is the whole purpose behind the show. But I don't think [Fringe] is ever going to be Battlestar Galactica, no full-fledged infantry and shock troops war. Most of it will happen in the back alleys. Ed. note: These are Jackson's personal thoughts, not necessarily what the writers have in store.

There have been a lot of great reveals already, but my favorite is that Peter is from [spooky announcer voice] ANOTHER DIMENSION! When did you find that out?
Christmas of last year, they told me that's where the storyline was headed with Peter, with the reveal at the end of last season. That was also the time, now that we knew where the Peter-Walter relationship was going, that [we decided the father-son relationship] should lighten up. These two guys should get closer and closer until finally the reveal happens, then we blow it up again [makes explosion noise].

How do you think Peter is going to handle knowing that he's actually alterna-Peter?
Not very well. [Laughs.] Here's a guy who if he just listened to his instincts, he never would be in this situation. When he first got in, he had no desire to be there and wanted to bail immediately. Didn't want anything to do with these people. Instead, he got himself sucked in to this situation, where now he's fully invested and cares and is applying himself to this thing that they do. And he's going to find out that for the first time in his life he gave himself to something bigger than himself, and it's all B.S. and they were betraying him and lying to him the entire way. So I don't think he's going to react very well.

And that could play into the potential Battle Royale of the universes.
The thing for Peter [if war does occur] becomes, where do his loyalties lie? Because he'll know he has no connection to this world, his only blood connection is to the other world. If you introduce his mother and father from that side, where does he go? Who does he choose to fight for?

You work a lot with Walter, Peter's "this universe" dad and the fan favorite. What's your favorite Walterism?
On camera or off camera? Because [John Noble] is a constant source of joy on set. He always has his own take on how the scenes are going to go, he's always incredibly prepared so you have the opportunity to play around with the scene. It's what comes across on camera, there's such a joy and life to his eyes. He makes my job easier. My favorite on-camera Walterism is his ability to eat things while having his hands in guts. The eating of the Twizzler with the bloody glove? That was pretty damn impressive.

How do you think "this universe" Peter would have turned out?
I think he probably would have been a more solid human being, if he hadn't been wrenched away from his family.

But that doesn't make for interesting TV.
[Laughs] No, it does not.

Fringe airs Thursday nights at 9pm on Fox.