Key Points
James Van Der Beek canceled an appearance at a Dawson’s Creek reunion due to illness.
Van Der Beek made a video message that played for attendees at the New York City event.
The actor announced his cancer diagnosis last year.
After backing out of Monday’s Dawson’s Creek cast reunion in New York City due to illness, James Van Der Beek still made a surprise appearance at the event in a sweet video message for attendees and his fellow cast members.
Following an introduction on stage from the cast of the 1998 teen drama — including Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Busy Philipps, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, and Meredith Monroe — the actors stepped aside at the Richard Rodgers Theatre while a video message from Van Der Beek played behind them.
“I have been looking forward to this night for months and months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she would put it together,” Van Der Beek, 48, said in the clip, one day after a stomach virus led to him exiting the Dawson’s Creek Class Reunion charity event aimed at raising money for F Cancer. Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2024.
Cindy Ord/Getty
The cast of ‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunite at a charity event for cancer
Van Der Beek said, “I can’t believe I’m not there” before lamenting that he doesn’t “get to hug my cast mates, my beautiful cast, in person” on stage.
“I wanted to stand on that stage and thank every single person in this theater for being here tonight. From the cast to he crew to everybody who’s donated time and been so generous,” the star said. “And especially every single last one of you, the best fans the world.”
He then joked that his replacement in the live reading at the event was a “young up-and-comer,” with the role of Dawson’s being taken over by Hamilton stage legend Lin-Manuel Miranda, who ran on stage after the clip played.
Video from the event circulating online shows Van Der Beek’s children singing the beloved drama’s theme song, Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait,” with cast members on stage, while the audience stood during the performance.
Philipps later shared a video to her Instagram Story, in which she celebrated the event and honored Van Der Beek, who remained with Dawson’s Creek until the series ended in 2003.
“Tonight was really incredible and very special, and, obviously, James not being able to get there was heartbreaking for a million different reasons,” Philipps said. “But, I was so glad that [his wife] Kimberly, and all the kids were able to be there. His dad was there, his sister, Kimberly’s family and her closest friends. It was really beautiful, and James was getting lots of videos, FaceTimes, texts and things. We love him so much, and we love everybody that supported. Thank you.”
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
‘Dawson’s Creek’ star James Van Der Beek in Los Angeles on May 14, 2025
Van Der Beek’s cast members have spoken highly of him in recent months, with Jackson detailing the actor’s resilience during an April appearance with Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the Dinner’s on Me podcast.
“James is going through something really truly terrible right now,” Jackson told the Modern Family star at the time. “And I wish I could take credit for this, but I was kind of the absentee partner here, but the girls all got together and were like, ‘We need to do something to help this guy out.'”
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He also spoke about the cast’s various relationships, noting that “whether we talk to each other all the time, Busy and Michelle are very, very close. And Katie and I are very close,” he elaborated. “It’s not a daily call, sometimes it’s not a weekly or monthly or even a half-yearly call. But when you’re together, there’s always that.”
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