The Dawson’s Creek forged is mourning the death of their costar James Van Der Beek following his death at age 48.
Van Der Beek’s family confirmed on Wednesday, February 11, that the actor, who portrayed the titular character on the hit ‘90s teen drama, had died following a battle with colorectal cancer.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and beauty,” James’ wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared in an announcement shared via his Instagram on the time. “There may be 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 announced his stage III colorectal cancer in November 2024. His Capeside Crew — including Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, Kerr Smith and more — got here together one 12 months later in September 2025 for a one-night only Dawson’s Creek reunion to assist raise money for F Cancer and Van Der Beek, performing a live reading of the show’s pilot on the Richard Rodgers Theatre in Recent York City.
“James and I were actually talking about [a reunion] back in April or May. We were doing a convention together out in, I feel it was Pittsburgh, and he had mentioned that Michelle wanted to do that and put it together,” Smith, 53, exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2025 about how the reunion first got here together. “So it’s Michelle’s baby, so far as I’m aware. She gets the credit. And I’m just glad she’s doing it, since it’s going to be fun to see all those guys. And after I was pitched, I’m like, ‘After all, I’m in. That is implausible.’ I mean, it helps, James.”
While Van Der Beek was ultimately not in attendance for the event, as he was forced to drop out last minute because of a stomach flu, Lin-Manuel Miranda stepped in to read the a part of Dawson in his absence. The reunion sold out in 12 minutes, with tickets priced from $199 to $1,200, raising 1000’s of dollars for the cause.
Dawson’s Creek ran on The WB from 1998 to 2003 and followed Van Der Beek’s Dawson Leery as he navigated the ups and downs of teenagehood alongside his on-and-off love interest Joey Potter (Holmes), best friend Pacey Witter (Jackson) and mysterious recent neighbor Jen Lindley (Williams). Smith, Meredith Monroe, Busy Philipps, John Wesley Shipp and Mary-Margaret Humes also starred.
Following his death, the forged took to social media to honor the lifetime of their longtime friend. Keep scrolling for each heartfelt tribute about Van Der Beek from the Dawson’s Creek forged:
Michelle Williams
“I’m desirous about him and I’m desirous about his family always,” Michelle Williams, who played Jen Lindley on the show, said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight on March 1.
Williams also expressed her gratitude to fans who had donated to the Van Der Beek family’s GoFundMe. “I also just wish to say, like, it’s been such an incredible thing as James’ friend and a friend of the family to see the response within the wake of his passing and I just really need to say thanks to every and every one who contributed to sustaining their life and their children’s lives,” she told the outlet. “It’s an incredibly meaningful thing to witness.”
Katie Holmes
“James, thanks. To share space along with your imagination is sacred — respiration the identical air within the land of make-believe and trusting that one another’s hearts are secure of their expression…,” Holmes, 47, shared in an emotional handwritten letter posted via Instagram on Thursday, February 12. “These are a few of the memories, together with laughter, conversations about life, James Taylor songs — adventures of a novel youth…”
“Bravery. Compassion. Selflessness. Strength. An appreciation for all times and the motion taken to live life with the integrity that life is art — creating a fantastic marriage, six loving children — the journey of a hero,” she wrote.
“I mourn this loss with a heart holding the truth of his absence and deep gratitude for his imprint on it,” said the actress. “To Kimberly and the kids, we’re here for you usually. And can at all times be there to shower you with love and compassion,” Holmes concluded.
Kerr Smith
“I’m so grateful for with the ability to call James a brother,” Kerr Smith, who portrayed Jack McPhee on seasons 2 through 6 of the show, wrote via Instagram. I’ll miss him deeply. Rest easy.”
In one other tribute shared via Instagram, Smith wrote, “To Kimberly and your beautiful children, James was so many things…sensible, creative, wildly original, and completely himself in every room he walked into. Being around him meant considering more deeply, laughing more freely, and feeling more awake to the world. He didn’t just create work. He created connection. He created laughter. He created moments that stick with you.”
He continued, “I cherish being his friend. For twenty-seven years, through different seasons of life, through different versions of ourselves. Our early years shaped me in ways I still carry, and now as adults gave that friendship much more depth and meaning. Sharing a life alongside his, in all its chapters, is something I’ll endlessly be thankful for.”
Smith also penned a message to Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly.
“Kimberly, he loved you deeply. And to his children…your father was extraordinary not only in what he completed, but in who he was. His mind, his heart, his generosity,” he concluded. “Rest easy James.”
Chad Michael Murray
“Sending love and light-weight to your beautiful family,” Chad Michael Murray, who played Charlie during Dawson’s Creek’s college years, wrote within the comments section of James’ Instagram. “James was a large. We’re so so so sorry for what you’re going through. His words, art and humanity inspired all of us- he inspired us to be higher in all ways. God bless you guys🙏.”
Busy Philipps
Philipps, who portrayed Joey’s roommate Audrey on Dawson’s Creek, shared an emotional tribute via Instagram. “My heart is deeply hurting for all of us today…every one who knew James and loved him, anyone who loved his work or had the pleasure of meeting him, all of his dear friends and community that surrounded him as he battled this illness, especially his parents and brother and sister,” she wrote alongside throwback photos of the pair through the years. “But I’m profoundly heartbroken for his incredible wife Kimberly and their six magical children. There may be a go fund me for them to assist out and that i’ll put the link in my stories. James Van Der Beek was one in a billion and he can be endlessly missed and that i don’t know what else to say. i’m just so so sad. He was my friend and that i loved him and that i’m so grateful for our friendship all these years.❤️.”
Mary-Margaret Humes
James Van Der Beek and Mary-Margaret Humes on ‘Dawson’s Creek.’ Columbia TriStar Television/ Courtesy: Everett Collection
Mary-Margaret Humes, who played James’ mother on Dawson’s Creek, issued a social media tribute in honor of her late costar on February 11.
“Rarely am I perplexed … today can be the exception. James, my gracious warrior, you fought a tough battle against all odds with such quiet strength and dignity,” Humes wrote via Instagram. “I’ll at all times love and admire you for that. Our last conversations … merely just a few days ago … are endlessly sitting softly in my heart for secure keeping. To our prolonged Dawson’s Creek family of friends, please be respectful of our silences in the meanwhile as Beautiful Kimberly and family have asked for peaceful privacy for now.”
‘Dawson’s Creek’
The official Instagram page for Dawson’s Creek issued a tribute following James’ death at 48.
“We’re deeply saddened by the passing of James Van Der Beek,” the social media statement read. “His iconic portrayal of Dawson Leery helped define a generation of television for fans and continues to resonate with audiences today. Our thoughts are together with his family and family members.”
Sasha Alexander
Sasha Alexander played Pacey Witter’s older sister, Gretchen Witter, on season 4 of Dawson’s Creek, who eventually becomes Dawson’s girlfriend. “Just heartbroken,” she wrote within the comments section of Mary-Margaret Humes’ Instagram post. “I’m so sorry for all of our losses. James was a fantastic soul and type human. Prayers for his whole family.”
Alexander later shared an emotional tribute to Van Der Beek, uploading an Instagram post with a carousel of photos of the actor over time, including ones from his time on Dawson’s Creek.
“It appears like yesterday that we were sitting beneath those pink Wilmington sunsets, filming through the beautiful Dawson’s Creek years. What made Dawson special was the person who played him,” she wrote. “James was a deep, thoughtful soul. He took his work seriously, not out of ego, but out of care. He cared about being a great actor. He cared about doing things well and he never took any of it with no consideration. But greater than anything, he cared about people. He cared about his family. He cared about showing up fully.”
Alexander shared that she was “heartbroken for everybody who loved him, especially his beautiful family” and added that she was holding them in her prayers.
“I’ll at all times be grateful that I got to face in his light for a little bit while. That I got to laugh with him, go to prom with Dawson and grow up alongside him. He’ll survive in our memories, and within the kindness he left behind,” she concluded. “Rest in Peace, my friend. 🤍”
Hal Ozsan
Hal Ozsan appeared on the ultimate season of Dawson’s Creek as Todd Automobile, a movie director mentor of James Van Der Beek’s character, Dawson.
“This morning my brother, James passed in his sleep. I do not need the words to precise the grief. There can be a James sized hole in my heart for the remaining of my life and I won’t ever meet his like again,” Ozsan wrote via Instagram alongside a photograph of his former costar. “James… there are such a lot of things I could say about you, brother, however the truest, is that you just at all times lived your life heart-first in every part you probably did. Which is why, when the time got here, you left in a house that you just built, surrounded by the love you made. We should always all be so lucky. What a life. What a person. What a friend. No notes, brother. No notes.”
Kevin Williamson
Kevin Williamson, who created Dawson’s Creek and served as showrunner for seasons 1 and a pair of before returning to write down the series finale, shared an emotional message to James Van Der Beek and his family.
“With much love, we’re here for you. Your Dawson’s Creek family will at all times be here for you and your beautiful family,” Williamson wrote via Instagram alongside photos with Van Der Beek over time. “To everyone, thanks in your outpouring of affection. It has been felt. Several times today, from my heart, I’ve tried to form the words to precise the gorgeous brilliance of James and what his presence has meant to my life. But I’m truly perplexed. I may have to trust that sooner or later those words will come… But today, all I can take into consideration is Kimberly and your entire Van Der Beek family. My heart is with you. K.”
John Wesley Smith
John Wesley Smith, who played Dawson’s dad, penned a lengthy tribute via Instagram.
“I attempt to pause before commenting when a painful event occurs within the lives of individuals to whom I actually have been close, out of an abundance of caution to not co-opt their personal pain and make it my very own,” he wrote. “I’m so glad to have met James Van Der Beek’s beautiful family at his DANCING WITH THE STARS competition in LA and most recently on the spectacular event, DAWSON’S CREEK ON BROADWAY last Fall. It’s to them that my heart goes out at this moment, his beautiful wife, Kimberly, and family and their families and circle of closest friends.”
Meredith Monroe
Meredith Monroe, who played Andie McPhee, paid tribute to James Van Der Beek via a touching Instagram tribute and shared that “nothing seems right” after the actor’s death.
Explaining that she had been “flooded with fond memories” of her friendship with Van Der Beek over time, Monroe praised the actor, listing several of his positive traits.
“Your legacy is your light. Whether 1 on 1, at a celebration, an event, or in your art you’ve at all times shared your light through: your humor & laughter, your curiosity, time & energy each in others & the world around you,” Monroe wrote alongside a carousel of throwback photos. She added, “Your ability to be completely present & make others feel welcome & comfortable, your sincerity, friendship, compassion & love.”