James Van Der Beek is best remembered for his role as Dawson Leery in the teen drama Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003). The Austin, Texas native, however, who passed away February 11 at 48, also has the rare distinction of playing a version of himself as a character on TV. That was on the ABC sitcom Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23 (2012-13).
At a January, 2012 Television Critics Association gathering at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California, Van Der Beek was asked about playing, well, Van Der Beek.
“I auditioned against six other James Van Der Beeks for this role,” joked the actor. “I was lucky that four of them were not actors, and two of them didn’t speak English…”
Playing himself wasn’t so bad, he said. “By episode three, I thought it bore less and less resemblance to me, which just made it even more fun.”
Van Der Beek allowed the show’s executive producers to goof on him, portraying him as a struggling actor. As he told executive producers Nahnatchka Khan and David Hemingson, “don’t ever be afraid of offending me; let’s always just go with what is funniest and we’ll see where that takes us.”
At the press session, one critic asked the actor, “at what point did enough time go by after Dawson’s Creek that you could do a show where you’re spoofing and openly embracing the love that people had for Dawson?”
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His answer, “I think once the residual money ran out.”
Van Der Beek was probably not kidding. Divorced from an early marriage, his second union to wife Kimberly Brook produced six children. While Don’t Trust the B– lasted just one season, Van Der Beek followed that as the lead on CSI: Cyber, although that series also was a one-and-done. Other TV roles followed, including one on the FX drama Pose in 2018. In between, there were story arcs on shows such as How I Met Your Mother.
That he was so self-effacing at that 2012 press conference stood out to critics. We were not only charmed by his comedy chops on the series, but also impressed with him personally. Young actors who enjoyed the level of success Van Der Beek had so early in his career don’t always roll with it later when careers get a little crunchy.
That six-season run on Dawson’s Creek really planted a flag on the TV landscape for the upstart weblet The WB. Van Der Beek played a budding filmmaker from Massachusetts who wanted to be the next Steven Spielberg. Fans watched his sunny character graduate from high school and then lurch into soapy love triangles opposite Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams. Many loyal viewers still carry the haunting theme song in their heads.
Van Der Beek also starred as a high schooler, this time a football player, in the coming-of-age feature “Varsity Blues” (1999). When I told him I made a short little comedy film as a University of Toronto student years earlier with the same title, he hoped my Varsity Blues made more money than his. (It did not; not by a long, long shot.) During the Dawson’s run, he also hosted Saturday Night Live and saw plenty of play on the covers of various teen beat magazines.
In his forties, leading roles grew scarce. One way Van Der Beek stepped up was as a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars. He and professional partner Emma Slater finished 5th in 2019 on Season 28.
In August of 2023, Van Der Beek was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer. Between treatments, he continued to work. He surfaced one year ago on The Masked Singer, making three appearances before being revealed as Griffin. As the confetti flew, host Nick Cannon brought his wife and six young children on stage. His kids got to see dad at work; the actor got to feel the love from the studio audience as well as take what would be a final bow.
Money, however, was tight. Last November, Van Der Beek started auctioning memorabilia he had saved from Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues to help pay for his cancer treatment.
Following his death on February 11, a GoFundMe campaign (“Support for James Van Der Beek’s Family”) was established to help cover the cost the family had experienced coping with Van Der Beek’s medical care. Spielberg was one of several celebrities who contributed generously. In two days, thanks to 46.5 thousand donors, the fund has raised close to $2.5 million.
