“James Van Der Beek, the golden-haired actor who starred as a coastal-town teenager facing the onslaught of first love and first sex in “Dawson’s Creek,” a popular turn-of-the-millennium TV drama series, died on Wednesday. He was 48. ... While the series was on the air, he played a high school football player in the coming-of-age movie “Varsity Blues” (1999); himself in the Kevin Smith comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001); and a bitter, promiscuous, drug-dealing college student in “The Rules of Attraction” (2002), a dark comedy based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel. After “Dawson’s Creek” ended, Mr. Van Der Beek was in prime-time demand — as a womanizing doctor on NBC’s “Mercy” (2010); a smart-aleck doctor on “Friends With Better Lives” (2014); an F.B.I. field agent on the spinoff “CSI: Cyber” (2015-16); a superstar D.J. in “What Would Diplo Do?” (2017); and a cocaine-snorting bad guy in the first season of Ryan Murphy’s “Pose” (2018).”

James Van Der Beek, ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Actor, Dies at 48 After Cancer Battle

“James Van Der Beek may have been best known as Dawson Leery, but the actor, who died on Wednesday at 48, found ways to subvert his all-American persona in these films and television shows available for streaming.”

Late Night Boos Pam Bondi’s ‘Bratty’ Behavior

“James Van Der Beek died this week at 48, two years after he announced that he had colorectal cancer. His breakout role came on which prime-time drama series? “Dawson’s Creek"”

The New York Times News Quiz, Feb. 13, 2026

“James Van Der Beek, who died on Wednesday at the age of 48 a little more than a year after announcing he had colorectal cancer, was a Xennial legend, you might not even catch that from a scroll through his profiles. They are far more family photo album than famous actor. In his bios across social media, he simply called himself some variation of “husband, father, writer, professional make-believer, work in progress.””

In His Second Act, James Van Der Beek Starred Online as a Proud Dad and Family Man