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James Van Der Beek, the film and television actor best known for playing the title character Dawson Leery on The WB’s “Dawson’s Creek,” has died after a public battle with colorectal cancer. He was 48.
His death on Wednesday, February 11, was shared by his family via Instagram, who wrote, “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. 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.”
Van Der Beek had been diagnosed with cancer in 2023, and went public with the illness in 2024. Van Der Beek was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, in 1977. After getting his start in theater, he had guest roles on TV series like “Clarissa Explains It All” and “As the World Turns” before becoming the series regular and lead on the generational coming-of-age series “Dawson’s Creek,” created by Kevin Williamson.
Van Der Beek recently since his diagnosis starred on TV series including Prime Video’s college comedy “Overcompensating” and The CW’s “Walker” reboot. Many remember him for his turn as Dawson Leery, a teenage budding filmmaker in Massachusetts in the series opposite Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson. But he brought comedy chops later in his career to “Don’t Trust the B—- In Apartment 23,” the beloved two-season cult comedy on ABC in 2012-2014. Van Der Beek played a version of himself on that show, a trend he carried throughout his career to comment on and subvert his TV celebrity status. He also made an impression in film with leading roles in “Varsity Blues” as quarterback Mox, and in Roger Avary’s Bret Easton Ellis adaptation “The Rules of Attraction” as a horny, toxic college student.
Van Der Beek also appeared on “One Tree Hill,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Pose,” “CSI: Cyber,” and “Criminal Minds,” among other series. He lent his voice to 69 episodes of the Disney Channel family animated series “Vampirina” and even appeared on Season 28 of “Dancing with the Stars.” Even further embellishing his unpretentiousness, the beloved star competed as Griffin on “The Masked Singer” in 2025 even despite his cancer diagnosis. He made that diagnosis public in November 2024 and continued to work throughout last year.
His film roles also included reprising Dawson Leery in the original “Scary Movie,” plus an English dubbing role in Hayao Miyazaki’s “Castle in the Sky,” Jason Reitman’s “Labor Day,” Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing,” and multiple “Jay and Silent Bob” films as himself for Kevin Smith. He was especially beloved for his role as a world-famous DJ on the Vice scripted series “What Would Diplo Do” from 2017.
He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Brook, as well as six children. He was previously married to Heather McComb from 2003 to 2010. A GoFundMe campaign to support Van Der Beek’s surviving family is ongoing.
English (US) ·