James Van Der Beek strips down to urge others to get checked for cancer

James Van Der Beek joined the striptease special The Real Full Monty to bring cancer awareness to a national audience.

The 47-year-old Dawson's Creek alum — who was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer in August 2023 — joined Anthony Anderson in the Fox production that aired on Monday.

'The universe is hilarious. I knew immediately in my heart I was doing this,' the Hollywood veteran told USA Today about his involvement in the show.

He explained: 'My brain had to catch up to what I'd be doing. There's been nothing even resembling a male stripping past for me, so this was truly novel. The added layer was this was going to be my first time talking about my diagnosis.'

In early November, James announced his diagnosis while plugging signed football jerseys from his 1999 drama Varsity Blues, which he used to raise funds for cancer treatment. 

'It's been amazing and overwhelming,' he told the publication. 

'To find myself in a place where I'm being supported with so many good wishes really took me aback,' the grateful actor gushed.

Taye Diggs, Tyler Posey, Chris Jones and Bruno Tonioli were also part of the initiative to spread information about men's health.

Van Der Beek shared with the outlet, 'Bruno and I go way back. I've always been this independent person, so counting on these guys for support was huge. 

'Hopefully others will be inspired to see me stop trying to be Superman constantly and relying on my support system.'

Sharing a teaser for the special via Instagram on Sunday, he wrote in a caption to his 1.6 million followers, 'One of the blessed moments of clarity I’ve had on this #cancer journey was saying yes to #TheRealFullMonty.'

He added, 'I was coming out of a medicine journey in the jungles of Colombia (more on that later) and in the Miami airport when I heard @anthonyanderson was putting together a group of men to do this special to raise awareness for early cancer detection. 

'The gimmick to bring attention: Learn and perform the Full Monty strip tease in a theater in front of a live audience.'

The original comedy film, released in 1997, was directed by Peter Cattaneo.

While promoting the Full Monty production, Van Der Beek recalled the time he was caught with an X-rated Dawson's Creek video at an airport.

'I received the "Dawson’s Crack" porno as a wrap gift for The Rules of Attraction,' he shared with USA Today. 'It was on VHS. That’s how long ago this was.'

On his way to North Carolina to work on the beloved television series, which co-starred Katie Holmes, he was stopped by TSA.

'I wanted to show everybody that we’d made it. So, I put it in my suitcase and went through security,' he remembered.

'It was right after 9/11, and security opened up every suitcase, including mine. And it was right on top. Not only was it, you know, a porno, but a porno based on a show I was in,' Van Der Beek said.

He shared, 'The TSA guard looked at me, got embarrassed, and just closed the suitcase. And I was on my merry way.'

The actor is raising six children — Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, eight, Gwen, six , and Jeremiah, three — with wife Kimberly, whom he married 14 years ago.

James dedicated a heartfelt Instagram post to his 'super human' spouse on Thanksgiving, praising her for her 'unconditional love.'

He also thanked their brood for keeping him 'present, active, and inspired.'

'It’s been a tough year… and I’m thankful for all of it. For the giant life re-direct cancer has placed in my path,' he shared on social media.

The star added, 'For the gift of knowing what it feels like to have friends come through on such a profound level, and in ways I never would have been able to ask for had I not been going through it.'