Photo: Everett Collection

One month after the death of James Van Der Beek, his Dawson’s Creek co-star Joshua Jackson reflected on their friendship during an interview with The Today Show. He shared that most of his grief stemmed from thinking as a father rather than as one of Van Der Beek’s colleagues; Jackson is a father of a 5-year-old daughter, and Van Der Beek has six children. “I think it hits in a variety of different ways,” Jackson explained. “For me as a father now, the enormity of that tragedy hits me in a very different way than just as a colleague, so I think the processing is ongoing.”

The two grew up together on Dawson’s Creek and worked together for six seasons as they rose to stardom. But because he knows the importance of fatherhood in Van Der Beek’s life, it felt like their time onscreen came second. He added, “It was formative for us. And I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness. But I will also say is I know that I’m just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life.” Jackson then applauded his parenting. “He became what we used to just call a ‘good man,’ a man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that allowed him to face the impossible with grace, an unbelievable partner and husband, right?,” he wrote. “Just a real man who showed up for his family and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father. And so while on the one hand that’s beautiful and I think he did lead a very good life and he was a good man, it is also, the tragedy of that loss for his family is enormous.”

Jackson isn’t the only Dawson’s Creek star who’s kept Van Der Beek’s memory close. During the Actor Awards earlier this month, on March 1, Michelle Williams said she was “thinking about him and … his family constantly.” Katie Holmes wrote a tribute by hand to her former co-star in which she lauded his family, saying, “These are some of the memories, along with laughter, conversations about life, James Taylor songs — adventures of a unique youth… Bravery. Compassion. Selflessness. Strength. An appreciation for life and the action taken to live life with the integrity that life is art — creating a beautiful marriage, six loving children – the journey of a hero.” At the time of his death, Van Der Beek’s family shared a GoFundMe to help cover medical expenses, raising more than $2.7 million.

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