Dawson’s Beek

It’s the late 90’s, 1998 to be exact. The writer of Scream has just created a young adult television drama series that will define a generation. That show was called Dawson’s Creek and it starred one of the most defining performers of our time, James Van Der Beek.

James David Van Der Beek was born on March 8, 1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut. The oldest child born to Melinda and James William Van Der Beek, James knew at an early age that he wanted to perform for the arts. He started taking acting lessons at a young age with hope and expectations of being a stage play actor. After taking drama in middle school James knew that acting was his calling. So when he was 15 years old he convinced his mother to take him to New York City to pursue a career in acting. So she got him an agent and in less than a year he was already performing in Off-Broadway productions.

James had aspirations to be big on stage, but he never imagined that he would break out big in television and film. In 1993 James landed a guest appearance on the Nickelodeon hit series Clarissa Explains It All, starring Melissa Joan Hart. In 1995 he landed the role of Rick Sanford in the feature film Angus. The film was both a critical and commercial success. From here he ended up auditioning for three television pilots and eventually landed one of them. The one he landed ended up being the most defining role of his career and the role in a show that would define a generation, Dawson’s Creek

In 1997 screenwriter Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) had developed a script for a television series based off of his own life growing up in North Carolina called Dawson’s Creek. James Van Der Beek was casted as the title character Dawson Leery, who is based off Kevin Williamson himself. Dawson’s Creek chronicles the journey of Dawson Leery and his childhood friends and loved ones growing up in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts. Through the Lens of Dawson’s point of view we see relationship struggles, family drama, dealing with the difficulties of life while coming of age and finding out who you are while pursuing your life’s passions.

James Van Der Beek certainly brought a deep sense of relatability to Dawson’s character. He embodied Dawson in a way that made you understand the character from a first person perspective. With James’ performance you didn’t just see Dawson’s journey. You felt like you were living it. You cheered for his triumphs when he achieved victory and you wept for him when endured a loss. James’ realistic performance and charisma catapulted him to stardom on not only television, but film as well.

In 1999 James landed the starring role as Jonathan “Mox” Moxon in the sports drama Varsity Blues, alongside Paul Walker, Ron Lester and Jon Voight. The film’s story is centered around a coming-of-age highschool football team juggling adolescence in their football fixated small town. Van Der Beek anchors the film as “Mox”, the intelligent, but revolting protagonist who sits at his team’s lead. As the 2000’s emerged James would have continued success in film and television with movies like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) , The Rules of Attraction (2002) and television shows like One Tree Hill (2008), Don’t Trust The B— In Apartment 23 (2012) and Vampirina (2017). James even evolved into meme culture in social media with his cry face from Dawson’s Creek.

I personally was introduced to James the same way most others were; I knew him as the dude that starred in Dawson’s Creek. Originally I had no interest in wanting to watch Dawson’s Creek as a kid because I thought it looked corny like how many people joked, but once I found out it came from one of my two main favorite screenwriters I had to check it out and I was really sold on James’ portrayal of Dawson. I loved how the character was a big movie buff and aspiring film student like myself and I loved how I could relate to all of his personal life stories. I was amazed at how much I saw myself in him. Dawson’s Creek would eventually become one of the main shows that I would bingewatch while I worked on my writing.

When I got to see James outside of Dawson I discovered how lovable he truly was. I love how he was able to make fun of his Dawson popularity in movies like Scary Movie (2001) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). That to me showed how down to earth he was. He knew what he was famous for, but was content with that as he pursued other ventures in which he found great success. As I got heavier into my writing and watched Dawson’s Creek more and more while I wrote I felt as if I knew James personally to extent, like a lovable friend who you never saw in personal, but knew very well.

Now here comes the heartbreak. In August of 2023 James was diagnosed with colonrectal cancer, though he didn’t make it known to the public for a year. Even though he was sick he kept performing in popular movies and tv shows doing what he loved as if he wasn’t at all sick, but it became clear how sick he was when he was unable to make it the reunion of Dawson’s Creek in 2025 due to his declining health. On February 11, 2026 it was officially announced to the world that James David Van Der Beek had quietly and peacefully passed away from the complications of his cancer. When the news of his passing went viral the tributes started pouring in.

I heard the news just mere minutes after it was announced and it stopped me in my tracks. The shock I felt made my heart drop though it shouldn’t have been a surprise. After seeing how ill he had fallen last year I knew in my heart that he didn’t have much time left but I was holding out for even the tiniest glimmer of hope. I absolutely love James not only for the work he’s done, but also for how good hearted a person he was to the world. He passes away at a time when I was coming into my own as an author and all I could think about is how hard it’ll be to focus on my writing with Dawson’s Creek playing in the background now that he’s gone.

Often times we don’t realize how much we love something or at least appreciate it until it’s gone. I’m glad that so many fans and loved ones of James genuinely loved and appreciated him while he was here. I’m watching Dawson’s Creek at this very moment while I’m writing this and I say this with wholehearted appreciation for James’ legacy and how the role he played in motivating me to do what I love by doing what he loved. All love to his big family, who treasure him the utmost and on behalf of all millennials who grew up with you James, may you rest in peace, we love you and we will never forget you.