NEW YORK (AP) — James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas he died at the turn of the new millennium, having risen to fame playing the titular character in ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and in later years making fun of his own handsome personality. He was 48.
A statement on the actor’s official Instagram page said on Wednesday that Van Der Beek died earlier in the day. “He met his final days with courage, faith and grace,” the statement said.Van Der Beek announced in 2024 that he was being treated for colon cancer.
Van Der Beek made a surprise video appearance at a charity event for the “Dawson’s Creek” reunion in New York City in September, after previously dropping out due to illness.
He appeared on stage at the Richard Rodgers Theater during a live reading of the show’s pilot episode in aid of F Cancer and Van Der Beek. Lin-Manuel Miranda filled in for him on stage. “Thank you to everyone here,” said Van Der Beek.
Forever linked to ‘Dawson’s Creek’
A former theater kid, Van Der Beek starred in the film “Varsity Blues” and on TV in “CSI: Cyber” as FBI Special Agent Elijah Mundo, but was forever linked to “Dawson’s Creek,” which ran on The WB from 1998 to 2003.
The series followed a group of friends in high school as they learned about falling in love, making real friendships and finding their footing in life. Van Der Beek, then twenty, played fifteen-year-old Dawson Leery, who aspired to become a director of Steven Spielberg quality.
“Dawson’s Creek,” featuring Paula Cole’s moody theme song “I Don’t Want To Wait,” helped define The WB as a haven for teens and young adults who connected with its hyper-articulated dialogue and frank conversations about sexuality. And it made household names like Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams.
The show caused a stir when one of the teens embarked on a racy affair with a teacher twenty years older than him and when Holmes’ character climbs through Dawson’s bedroom window and they curl up together. Racier shows like “Euphoria” and “Sex Education” owe a debt to “Dawson’s Creek.”
Van Der Beek sometimes struggled to emerge from the shadows of the show, but ultimately he tended to make fun of himself, such as on Funny Or Die videos and on Kesha’s ‘Blow’ Music Video, including his laser gun fight with the pop star in a nightclub and dead unicorns.
“It’s hard to compete with something that was the cultural phenomenon that ‘Dawson’s Creek’ was,” he told Vulture in 2013. “It took so long. That’s a lot of hours playing one character for people. So it’s normal that they associate you with that.”
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