James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for playing Dawson Leery in Dawson's Creek and starring in Varsity Blues, has died at the age of 48. He passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with colorectal cancer, his family confirmed on social media. In a statement on Instagram, his family said he "passed peacefully this morning" and asked for privacy as they grieve.
Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in November 2024. To help cover treatment costs, he auctioned memorabilia from Dawson's Creek and Varsity Blues. He also withdrew from a one-night Dawson's Creek reunion, with Lin-Manuel Miranda stepping in for a live reading of the pilot. The actor had been set to appear as a mayoral candidate in Prime Video's upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series Elle.
Born on 8 March 1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut, Van Der Beek made his professional debut at 16, appearing off Broadway in Edward Albee's Finding the Sun. Dawson's Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003, became a phenomenon for The WB and was later picked up by Netflix in 2020. He once said his inspiration for Dawson came partly from The Phantom of the Opera, referencing the show's love triangle.
In 1999, he starred in Varsity Blues, and in 2002 in The Rules of Attraction, both of which have become cult classics. His other credit included CSI: Cyber, Don't Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, the animated series Vampirina, Mercy, and What Would Diplo Do? Van Der Beek also had an unfinished memoir, which remains among his final projects.
