Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek dies aged 48

James Van Der Beek has died at the age of 48 after being diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.

His wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared the news in an Instagram post.

“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” she wrote. “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.”

The Dawson’s Creek star made his last public appearance on December 19 in an interview with Today in the US, when he said he was feeling “much, much better than I did a couple months ago”.

“It’s been a longer journey than I ever thought it would be,” he said. “It’s required more of me – more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong – I didn’t know I was this strong. But I feel good.”

The actor was first diagnosed following a routine colonoscopy in August 2023.

“I have colorectal cancer,” he told People in November 2024. “I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.

“There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”

Colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer or rectal cancer, develops from the inner lining of the bowel. According to the Cancer Council, it is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. One in nine Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer is under the age of 50.

A one-time theatre kid, Van Der Beek would star in the movie Varsity Blues and on TV in CSI: Cyber as FBI Special Agent Elijah Mundo, but was forever connected to Dawson’s Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003.

The series followed a group of high school friends as they learned about falling in love, building real friendships, and finding their footing in life.

Van Der Beek, then 20, played 15-year-old Dawson Leery, who aspired to be a director of Steven Spielberg calibre.

Dawson’s Creek made household names of Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams.

Van Der Beek sometimes struggled to get out from under the show’s shadow, but eventually leaned into lampooning himself, like in Funny Or Die videos and in Kesha’s Blow music video.

“It’s tough to compete with something that was the cultural phenomenon that Dawson’s Creek was,” he told Vulture in 2013.

“It ran for so long. That’s a lot of hours playing one character in front of people. So it’s natural that they associate you with that.”

While still on Dawson’s Creek, Van Der Beek hosted Saturday Night Live — the musical guest was Everlast — and landed a plum role in Varsity Blues, playing a second-string high school quarterback who leaps into the breach when the star suffers an injury.

Van Der Beek, who was raised in Cheshire, Connecticut, started acting at 13 after suffering a concussion playing football, which prevented him from playing for a year on doctor’s orders. He landed the role of Danny Zuko in his school production of Grease.

He stuck with theatre, landing at 16 in 1994 an off-Broadway role in Finding the Sun by Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee and one of the sons in a revival of Shenandoah at the prestigious Goodspeed Opera House in his home state.

He earned a scholarship to New Jersey’s Drew University but left school early when he got Dawson’s Creek. In 2024, he returned to campus to accept an honorary degree for his “selfless service and exemplary commitment to the mission of Drew,” the university said.

Drew University President Hilary Link welcomed Van Der Beek with a popular quote from his Dawson’s Creek character: “Edge is fleeting,” she said, “but heart lasts forever. So on this morning, we pay tribute to that heart.”

He is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and six children, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.

With AP

Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.