Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek dies aged 48
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BBCActor James Van Der Beek, best known for his starring role in US teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died aged 48 battling bowel cancer.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” a post to his social media accounts read. “He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.”
The star was diagnosed with the disease in the latter half of 2023 but only revealed the news in November 2024.
The father of six starred in multiple popular shows and films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including the cult classic Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues.
In an interview with Business Insider, he revealed he started experiencing changes in his bowel movements, a common symptom of bowel cancer. He stopped drinking coffee to see whether that would help before having a screening test.
That revealed he had stage three of the disease, which meant it had spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Van Der Beek said his “lowest point” in treatment was feeling like he was losing core parts of his identity.
“All these beautiful things that I love, and I used to define myself as – a father, a provider, a husband – all that got taken away, or at least paused,” he said. “I had to sit there and say, ‘Well, what am I?’ And it was, ‘I’m still worthy of love.'”
Following his own diagnosis, Van Der Beek spent time raising awareness about screening.
“I’ve learned a lot,” he told Business Insider. “If I can save anyone from having to go through this, that’s magic.”
Van Der Beek was one of the most famous faces on TV in the 1990s and 2000s, playing Dawson Leery in the hit TV show Dawson’s Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003.
He also starred in the 1999 coming-of-age film Varsity Blues.
He also played a fictionalised version of himself in the cult television show Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, and he performed on the 28th US season of Dancing with the Stars.
Earlier this year, he guest starred in Prime Video college comedy, Overcompensating.
Van Der Beek made a surprise virtual appearance at a Dawson’s Creek reunion charity event on 22 September, having been forced to pull out of the live event due to having two stomach viruses.
The reunion saw the likes of Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Busy Philipps performing a live table reading of the show’s pilot episode from 1998, joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda who stood in for Van Der Beek.
The event raised funds for charity F Cancer and was also a tribute to their castmate.
In an interview with ABC News in 2020, Van Der Beek said he was very shy as a child.
“I never wanted to be an actor as a kid. I wanted to be an athlete,” he said.
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