James Van Der Beek: Life and Career in Photos

James Van Der Beek died on Wednesday at 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer. He was best known for playing the title character Dawson Leery on the teen drama Dawson’s Creek and for his role in the cult film Varsity Blues. Van Der Beek made his film debut in 1995 in Angus and had his big break in 1998 with Dawson’s Creek, where he starred alongside Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams across six seasons as an aspiring filmmaker.

He also won a Moonman for breakthrough male performance after presenting with Courtney Love at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards. His television credits included appearances on Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother, Criminal Minds, Modern Family and Friends With Better Lives.

He played an exaggerated version of himself on Don’t Trust the B___ in Apartment 23, an arc that concluded with a fictional Dancing With the Stars stint; he later competed on the real Dancing With the Stars in 2019 and finished in fifth place with partner Emma Slater.

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