LOS ANGELES — James Van Der Beek, the actor who starred in the teen drama series “Dawson’s Creek” and the sports drama “Varsity Blues,” has died. He was 48.

Known for wooing audiences as aspiring filmmaker Dawson Leery in the WB series, Van Der Beek died Wednesday morning. His family confirmed his death in a statement on the actor’s Instagram account. The actor battled Stage 3 colorectal cancer, a condition he revealed in November 2024.

“He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity, and the sacredness of time,” the statement said. “Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”

The actor, who began his professional career in the early 1990s, was open about his cancer battle, channeling his experience for a spot on Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” keeping things light on social media and sharing his efforts to alleviate treatment costs. As he celebrated his 48th birthday in March, Van Der Beek said in a video that confronting his own mortality encouraged him to look inward.

“I am worthy of God’s love, simply because I exist,” he mused, “and if I am worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I be worthy of my own?”

A Connecticut native, Van Der Beek collected more than 70 film and television credits, notably including a meta-version of himself (a smarmy has-been nicknamed “The Beek From the Creek”) in ABC’s “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23” and the brainy yet rebellious high school quarterback Jonathan “Mox” Moxon in the 1999 coming-of-age film “Varsity Blues.” He also played a version of himself in the 2001 comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

He starred in Kevin Williamson’s “Dawson Creek” from 1998 to 2003, sharing the screen with Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson, among others. The series followed a tight group of friends as they navigate the intricacies of high school life. For Van Der Beek, the series’ end was a bittersweet occasion.

“I couldn’t be happier to move on, but it’s always tough to leave a really good thing, and we are leaving a family,” he told The Times in 2003. “It’s so rare to work with the same group of people for six years and get that close to them. The third emotion on top of it all is a real gratefulness for the entire experience.”

Though “Dawson’s Creek” ended long before the social media boom, a memorable moment from the series — Dawson’s “ugly cry” — resurfaced years later and became a beloved meme. “All of a sudden, six years of work was boiled down to one seven-second clip on loop,” Van Der Beek recalled to The Times in 2012.

He added: “It became a joke.”

The teen drama thrust Van Der Beek into mainstream fame, but the following years mainly included brief stints on series including “Criminal Minds,” “Ugly Betty” and “One Tree Hill” and minor roles in several films.

“I think I’ve probably been the slowest starter out of the gate,” Van Der Beek said in 2012, comparing his career to those of his “Dawson’s” co-stars. Jackson landed a central role in Fox’s cult drama “Fringe.” Holmes appeared in films before marring Tom Cruise in 2006 (they divorced in 2012). After “Dawson’s Creek” Williams had been nominated for numerous Oscars, including her turn in “Brokeback Mountain.”

Hollywood quickly moved on after “Dawson’s Creek,” prompting Van Der Beek to enter a period of self-reflection, he said. At the time, he started practicing kabbalah, married wife Kimberly Van Der Beek (née Brook) in 2010 (he was previously married to actress Heather McComb) and welcomed two children.

After years of passing on opportunities, Van Der Beek sought to reframe himself and have some fun with it. “I had this realization where I just thought, ‘If something sounds fun and I haven’t done it before and I get a kick out of it, I’m just going to say yes,’” he said in 2012.

That led to a variety of opportunities, including a music video for pop star Kesha, self-spoofing videos for comedy website Funny or Die and his meta role in Nahnatchka Khan’s “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23” on ABC. The series ran from 2012 to 2013.

Van Der Beek’s television credits include “How I Met Your Mother,” “Pose,” “CSI: Cyber,” “Friends with Better Lives” and “Overcompensating.” He also appeared in the films “Downsizing,” “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” and “Bad Hair.”

“The ego certainly is the biggest obstacle as an artist or performer, so any chance you get to destroy that is really healthy,” he told The Times in 2012.

Van Der Beek was born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut. His mother was a dancer and gymnastics teacher and his father was an executive at a telephone company. Van Der Beek, the eldest of three children, began acting in school productions before making his professional stage debut at age 16 in New York, according to the New York Times.

In addition to his wife, Van Der Beek is survived by their six children Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah, the Associated Press reported.

His family created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for bills, the children’s education and additional expenses.

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(Times staff writer Yvonne Villarreal contributed to this report.)

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