Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek died on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, following a battle with Stage 3 colorectal cancer. He was 48 years old.

Van Der Beek was best known for playing Dawson Leery, the small town budding filmmaker in Dawson’s Creek. The coming of age drama followed a group of outcasts as they dealt with first love, complicated friendships, and difficult topics like addiction, depression, homophobia, and divorce. The show ran for six seasons from 1998 to 2003.

Born on March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, Van Der Beek began acting during middle school. At age 15, Van Der Beek’s mother took him to New York to pursue his career professionally. A year later he was in the off-Broadway production of Finding the Sun, then he made his film debut in 1995’s Angus.

He played a backup quarterback turned local hero in Varsity Blues, portrayed a parody version of Dawson Leery in Scary Movie, was in Texas Rangers, and played a version of himself in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Van Der Beek was in the dark comedy The Rules of Attraction, did a few episodes of Criminal Minds and One Tree Hill, and had a recurring role in Mercy.

Van Der Beek starred as a satirical version of himself in Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23, guest starred in How I Met Your Mother, starred in CSI: Cyber, was in Downsizing, and appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. He voiced Boris in the Vampirina animated series, was in a few episodes of Overcompensating and his final role was in 2025’s Sidelined and its sequel.