{"id":527281,"date":"2026-03-10T17:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/527281\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T17:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:48:11","slug":"joshua-jackson-breaks-silence-on-james-van-der-beeks-death-as-he-navigates-ongoing-grief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/527281\/","title":{"rendered":"Joshua Jackson breaks silence on James Van Der Beek’s death as he navigates ‘ongoing’ grief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joshua Jackson spoke for the first time about his late \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d co-star<\/a> James Van Der Beek\u2019s death, one month after the 48-year-old lost his battle to cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cMighty Ducks\u201d star, 47, opened up to \u201cToday\u201d show viewers<\/a> Tuesday about how his grief \u201chits in a variety of different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson explained, \u201cFor me as a father now, the enormity of that tragedy for his family hits me in a very different way than just as a colleague. So I think the process is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joshua Jackson honored his late \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d co-star James Van Der Beek on Tuesday after his death.<\/p>\n

The \u201cMighty Ducks\u201d star said Tuesday that he is still navigating \u201congoing\u201d grief one month after his pal\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n

He went on to call his friend\u2019s passing an \u201cenormous\u201d loss.<\/p>\n

Jackson and Van Der Beek played Pacey Witter and Dawson Leery, respectively, on the show for six seasons.<\/p>\n

While filming the teen drama, which aired between 1998 and 2003, the actors were roommates in Wilmington, N.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have any money yet because the checks hadn\u2019t cleared,\u201d Jackson, 47, recalled in a 2018 Entertainment Weekly interview<\/a>. \u201cSo I was kind of rescued by having somebody to sign up with.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that \u201chigh jinks happened afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Jackson called the loss \u201cenormous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duo acted alongside each other on the teen drama between 1998 and 2003. Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

Jackson played Pacey Witter, while Van Der Beek portrayed the series\u2019 titular character, Dawson Leery. Columbia Tristar\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

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At the time, Van Der Beek apologized for \u201cletting the f\u2013king alarm clock go off 70 times.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he and his fellow cast members didn\u2019t talk for years after the series wrapped, Van Der Beek told \u201cWhine Down\u201d podcast listeners<\/a> in March 2025 that they\u2019d \u201crecently \u2026 reconnect[ed].\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson, in turn, said on \u201cDinner\u2019s on Me\u201d the following month that despite \u201cf\u2013k you and don\u2019t talk to me\u201d moments, the co-stars were bonded for life through their \u201cformative experience\u201d and did keep in touch.<\/p>\n

He clarified, \u201cSometimes it\u2019s not a weekly or monthly or even a half-yearly call.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Van Der Beek\u2019s August 2023 colorectal cancer diagnosis<\/a>, however, the \u201cwhole gang\u201d got \u201ca little group text going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actors were roommates while filming in North Carolina. \u00a9Columbia Tristar\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

They initially did not remain close after wrapping the show. \u00c3\u00c2\u00c3\u00c2\u00c3\u00c2\u00c3\u00c2\u00a9Columbia Tristar\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

However, Jackson (pictured above on Thursday) revealed last year that \u201cthe whole gang\u201d started a group chat after Van Der Beek\u2019s 2023 cancer diagnosis. IXOLA \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n

During an April 2025 episode of the \u201cJennifer Hudson Show,\u201d<\/a> Jackson said, \u201cHe\u2019s doing a little bit better, but it is obviously very, very scary. \u2026 [I\u2019m sending] thoughts, prayers and just anything that can be done for him \u2014 and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Der Beek, notably, was married to wife Kimberly Van Der Beek, with whom he shared Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 8, Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 3.<\/p>\n

Kimberly, 43, and the six kids<\/a> attended a \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d reunion in September 2025, which raised money for James\u2019 treatment, amid his absence.<\/p>\n

James made a surprise appearance<\/a> via video after dropping out<\/a>, telling concerned fans in his final interview<\/a> three months later that he looked thin onscreen<\/a> because of a stomach virus \u2014 \u201cnot [a] cancer-related\u201d reason.<\/p>\n

In the April 2025 interview, Jackson called his pal\u2019s health struggles \u201cvery, very scary.\u201d WWD via Getty Images<\/p>\n

He took part in a headline-making \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d reunion in September 2025 to raise money for Van Der Beek\u2019s treatment. Getty Images for F Cancer<\/p>\n

He got emotional discussing the event and seeing the standing ovation his family received.<\/p>\n

News of James\u2019 death broke in February, with Kimberly posting via Instagram about the \u201ccourage, faith and grace\u201d her husband \u201cmet his final days with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holmes and more \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d stars<\/a>, as well as creator Kevin Williamson, have since mourned James<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joshua Jackson spoke for the first time about his late \u201cDawson\u2019s Creek\u201d co-star James Van Der Beek\u2019s death,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[12374,49,48,7714,361,5782,20165,362,37198,75,82631,37194,26913,348],"class_list":["post-527281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-actors","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cancer","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity-deaths","tag-celebrity-interviews","tag-celebrity-news","tag-dawsons-creek","tag-entertainment","tag-james-van-der-beek","tag-joshua-jackson","tag-today-show","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}