![\"Actor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/46864807e94be37ea4a173c10aa5ca46.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nJames Van Der Beek, the American actor best known for his starring role as Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek from 1998 to 2003, has died at the age of 48.<\/p>\n
Van Der Beek was also known for playing a fictionalised version of himself on the sitcom Don’t Trust the B**** in Apartment 23, as well as for roles in the films Varsity Blues and The Rules of Attraction.<\/p>\n
He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023.<\/p>\n
His family announced the news with a statement on his Instagram: “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning.”<\/p>\n
“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,” they said.<\/p>\n
“Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”<\/p>\n
‘Exquisitely talented heart-throb’<\/p>\n
Dawson’s Creek first aired in 1998 and followed the lives of a group of young high-school friends in a coastal town in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
The coming-of-age drama ran for six seasons and, along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, became a flagship show for the fledgling WB channel as it sought to establish itself as a rival to the larger ABC, CBS and NBC networks.<\/p>\n
It was broadcast in more than 50 countries and proved particularly popular in Australia.<\/p>\n
Van Der Beek’s performance made him a major celebrity at the time, and he became a fixture on both critics’ watch lists and the cover of teen magazines.<\/p>\n
However, while his career continued in both TV and film after the series ended in 2003, it was predominantly his young co-stars, including Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams, who went on to achieve major Hollywood success.<\/p>\n
Sharing his diagnosis<\/p>\n
James Van Der Beek, pictured in 2020, became a household name in the late 90s. (AP: Greg Allen, Invision)<\/p>\n
Van Der Beek revealed publicly that he had cancer in a social media post in November 2024 after getting word that a tabloid was going to publish a story about his diagnosis.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialling in my overall health with greater focus than ever before,” he wrote on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I’m in a good place and feeling strong.<\/p>\n “Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline.”<\/p>\n