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James Van Der Beek, 'Dawson's Creek' and 'Varsity Blues' star, dies at 48
The actor was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer in November 2024.

By Daniel Arkin

James Van Der Beek, the actor who endeared himself to a generation of television viewers as the star of the drama series “Dawson’s Creek,” died Wednesday.

He was 48.

“He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” Kimberly Van Der Beek, his wife, said on Instagram. “There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come.”

“For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend,” she added.

In early November 2024, Van Der Beek announced he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer, which develops in the colon or rectum.

“I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before,” Van Der Beek said in a Nov. 3, 2024, post on Instagram. “Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support.”

He chronicled his experience living with cancer on Instagram, where he frequently paid tribute to his wife and children for their support.

Van Der Beek was best known for playing Dawson Leery, the earnest, introspective aspiring filmmaker at the center of the WB’s “Dawson’s Creek.” The show ran for six seasons, became a classic of the teen drama genre and later found new life on streaming services.

“The little pilot we shot in that small town for that fledgling network aired, changed our lives and launched our careers,” Van Der Beek wrote in a Jan. 25, 2018, post on Instagram in honor of the show’s 20th anniversary.

The series turned Van Der Beek into a youth heartthrob and catapulted him into the national limelight. He appeared on magazine covers and regularly found himself surrounded by adoring teenagers — a taste of pre-internet fame he later discussed with a tone of amusement.

“When it first started happening, the people who were coming up to me were teenage girls who were screaming,” Van Der Beek told People magazine in 2024, reflecting on his early brushes with fame.

“I have what I call the lamest form of PTSD ever, which is when I hear teenage girls go, ‘Oooh!’ When I hear that titter, I go into a still space ... [then] I’m like: Dude, get over yourself,” he added.

James David Van Der Beek was born on March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut. He caught the acting bug as a child, appearing in various school plays before making his professional debut in an off-Broadway production of Edward Albee’s “Finding the Sun.”

He landed his first film credit in the 1995 coming-of-age drama “Angus” and the following year appeared in the independent romance “I Love You, I Love You Not.”

Then came “Dawson’s Creek,” which premiered in 1998. The series, set in a seaside town in Massachusetts, revolved around Dawson’s relationships with Joey Potter (Katie Holmes), Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) and Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson).

In the years “Creek” was on the air, Van Der Beek nabbed a string of film roles. He played a high school quarterback in “Varsity Blues,” released in 1999 to solid box-office returns, and cameoed in the first “Scary Movie” (2000) and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001).

“Creek” ended its run in May 2003 after 128 episodes. Van Der Beek followed it up with a mix of movie and television parts. He appeared on episodes of the shows “Criminal Minds,” “Ugly Betty,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “One Tree Hill,” “Medium” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

In the early 2010s, Van Der Beek scored a notable meta role as a fictionalized version of himself on the short-lived ABC sitcom “Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.” He was “James Van Der Beek,” an actor struggling to get his wobbly career back on track.

“It was a really fun character to play because he was completely without shame,” Van Der Beek told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014. “It’s fun to mock the business, and it’s fun to keep your own ego in check, too. You feel very safe when you’re constantly destroying all those little things you keep precious as an actor. It’s a very liberating feeling.”

In recent years, Van Deer Beek starred in the two-season CBS procedural “CSI: Cyber” and appeared in the first season of the FX drama series “Pose.”

Van Der Beek is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their six children. He was previously married to actor Heather McComb.