James Van Der Beek
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James David Van Der Beek, born March 8, 1977, is an American actor who captured hearts and minds as Dawson Leery on The WB's iconic "Dawson's Creek" from 1998 to 2003. But his journey didn't stop there. He fearlessly portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on the cult ABC sitcom "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23," delved into the world of law enforcement as FBI Agent Elijah Mundo on "CSI: Cyber," and showcased his dramatic range as Matt Bromley in the first season of FX's "Pose."
His cinematic presence is equally impressive, with memorable roles in "Varsity Blues," "Texas Rangers," "The Rules of Attraction," "Formosa Betrayed," "Labor Day," and the chilling "Bad Hair."
Born in Cheshire, Connecticut, James David Van Der Beek's artistic spirit was nurtured from a young age. His mother, a dancer and gymnastics teacher, and his father, a cellular phone company executive and former baseball pitcher, provided a supportive backdrop for his burgeoning talent. With Dutch, German, English, Scots-Irish, and French heritage, his very name, "Van Der Beek," meaning "from the creek" in Dutch, hints at a story waiting to unfold.
His theatrical roots run deep, with an early turn as Reuben in his middle school's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." At just fifteen, he boldly sought professional representation in New York City, making his off-Broadway debut at sixteen in Edward Albee's "Finding the Sun," a performance that garnered critical acclaim. He revisited the off-Broadway stage in 2003 with a brief but impactful appearance in "Rain Dance." Even while in high school, he graced the stage in the musical "Shenandoah" and made his feature film debut in "Angus," followed by a small role in the independent film "I Love You, I Love You Not."
Drew University offered him an academic scholarship, where he even joined an all-male a cappella group. However, the call of Hollywood was strong, and he left university when "Dawson's Creek" began production. He continued to hone his craft at the Vineyard Theater in New York, starring in Nicky Silver's "My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine," and took on a supporting role in the independent film "Cash Crop."
The year 1997 marked a pivotal moment when Van Der Beek auditioned for three television pilots. One of them, "Dawson's Creek," would catapult him to stardom. His portrayal of the introspective Dawson Leery resonated with audiences, establishing the network and its cast. The show's success led to worldwide syndication. In 1999, he starred in the teen football drama "Varsity Blues," which dominated the U.S. box office and earned him an MTV Movie Award.
His rising star was recognized by People magazine, which named him one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World." He further expanded his filmography with roles in "Texas Rangers," "Scary Movie," and "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back," where he humorously played himself. In 2002, he took on the complex character of Sean Bateman in the film adaptation of "The Rules of Attraction," a role that, despite initial box office struggles, found a devoted cult following on DVD.
After "Dawson's Creek" concluded in 2003, Van Der Beek returned to his theatrical roots with "Rain Dance" and explored his writing talents with an unproduced screenplay. He made notable television appearances, including a guest role on "Ugly Betty" and a chilling turn as a serial killer in "Criminal Minds." His comedic timing shone through in a guest spot on "How I Met Your Mother," and he continued to impress with a recurring role on "One Tree Hill" as a filmmaker offering a satirical counterpoint to his Dawson Leery persona.
His commitment to diverse roles continued with the Lifetime film "Taken In Broad Daylight" and the critically acclaimed political thriller "Formosa Betrayed," for which he won Best Actor at the San Diego Film Festival. He then joined the cast of the television series "Mercy" as Dr. Joe Briggs and starred in the thriller "Stolen."
Van Der Beek's versatility was on full display when he portrayed Kesha's nemesis in her music video for "Blow" and embraced his comedic side as a fictionalized version of himself in "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23." This role garnered him significant praise for his self-deprecating humor and his ability to satirize his own public image.
In 2015, he stepped into the role of Senior Field Agent Elijah Mundo on "CSI: Cyber." He also made a mark in the British comedy series "Carters Get Rich," a cameo in "Downsizing," and lent his voice to Boris Hauntley in the Disney Junior show "Vampirina."
Venturing into showrunning, Van Der Beek co-created, wrote, produced, and starred in "What Would Diplo Do?", a project that earned rave reviews and was hailed as "The Veep of DJ Culture" by the L.A. Times.
In 2019, he joined the cast of the drama series "Pose" for one season. His journey took a surprising turn on the 28th season of "Dancing with the Stars," where he showcased impressive dance skills, only to be eliminated in the semi-finals. This emotional night coincided with the heartbreaking news of his wife's miscarriage, a moment that deeply affected viewers. In 2025, he donned a mask as "Griffin" on "The Masked Singer," a performance that included a poignant reference to his personal health journey.
James Van Der Beek was married to actress Heather McComb from 2003 to 2009. He later married business consultant Kimberly Brook in 2010. Together, they have six children. The couple has bravely shared their experiences with miscarriage, highlighting the profound emotional toll of such losses. In 2020, they made the significant decision to move from Los Angeles to Texas.
In a courageous act of transparency, Van Der Beek revealed in November 2024 that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer on August 31, 2023. He has been privately navigating this diagnosis, focusing on his treatment and recovery with the unwavering support of his family.
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James David Van Der Beek (; born March 8, 1977) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery on The WB's Dawson's Creek (1998–2003), he also played a fictionalized version of himself on the cult ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012–2013), starred on CSI: Cyber as FBI Agent Elijah Mundo (2015–2016), and appeared as Matt Bromley on the first season of the FX drama Pose (2018).
His film credits include Varsity Blues (1998), Texas Rangers (2001), The Rules of Attraction (2002), Formosa Betrayed (2009), Labor Day (2013), and Bad Hair (2020).
== Early life ==
James David Van Der Beek was born on March 8, 1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut, the son of Melinda (née Weber; 1950–2020), a dancer and gymnastics teacher, and husband James William Van Der Beek, a cellular phone company executive and former minor league baseball pitcher. He is of Dutch, German, English, Scots-Irish, and French descent; his last name translates to "from the creek" in Dutch.
== Career ==
=== Theatre ===
Van Der Beek played the role of Reuben in his middle school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. At the age of 15, he asked his mother to take him into New York City to get an agent and try his hand in professional acting. He made his professional debut off-Broadway at age 16 in 1993 in the New York premiere of Edward Albee's play Finding the Sun with the Signature Theatre Company. He played the role of "Fergus". Both he and the production, which was also directed by Albee, received positive reviews. A decade later, in 2003, he appeared again off-Broadway, briefly, in the play Rain Dance.
At 17, while still in high school at Cheshire Academy, he performed in the musical Shenandoah at the Goodspeed Opera House, made his feature film debut as a sadistic bully in Angus (1995) and shot a small role in the independent film I Love You, I Love You Not (1996).
He attended Drew University on an academic scholarship, where he participated in an all-male a cappella group, but he left the university when Dawson's Creek started production. He performed at the Vineyard Theater in New York in Nicky Silver's play, My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine, and he played a supporting role in the independent film Cash Crop, which was originally shot in spring of 1997 and originally titled Harvest until released in 2001.
=== Television and film ===
In early 1997, Van Der Beek auditioned for three television pilots. One of them was for The WB show Dawson's Creek. Van Der Beek won the title role of Dawson Leery, and the show's 1998 debut was a success that helped to establish the network and its cast. The series ran for six seasons and was syndicated worldwide. In 1999, he starred in the teen football drama Varsity Blues, which held the number 1 spot at the U.S. box office for its first two weeks. He won an MTV Movie Award for his role.
Around this time he was selected one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World", and he appeared in several other films, including Texas Rangers, Scary Movie, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, playing himself playing Jay in the film within the film opposite Jason Biggs as Silent Bob. In 2002, he played Sean Bateman (younger brother of American Psycho protagonist Patrick Bateman) in the film adaptation of the novel The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis, written and directed by Roger Avary. The film was an initial box office failure but found a cult following on DVD.
In 2006, he appeared on the Direct-to-DVD thriller The Plague, which was produced by Clive Barker and was panned by critics. After Dawson's Creek ended in 2003, he returned to off-Broadway, in Lanford Wilson's Rain Dance. He completed an unproduced screenplay titled Winning. Since then, he made a few appearances on television, including a role on Ugly Betty. In 2007, he guest-starred in a two-part episode of the series Criminal Minds, playing a serial killer with dissociative identity disorder called Tobias Hankel who kidnaps and drugs one of the main characters, Spencer Reid. In 2008, he made a guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother, in which he played Simon Tremblay, one of Robin Scherbatsky’s (Cobie Smulders) former boyfriends. He returned for two more episodes in 2013.
In 2008, he began a recurring role on One Tree Hill as a filmmaker who was largely the satirical opposite of Dawson Leery. He appeared in an episode of the fifth season of Medium. In 2009, he portrayed real life kidnapper Anthony Steven "Tony Zappa" Wright in the Lifetime network television film Taken In Broad Daylight. In 2009, he won Best Actor at the 8th Annual San Diego Film Festival for his portrayal of FBI agent Jake Kelly working in Taiwan in the political thriller Formosa Betrayed, which also won Best Picture. The film was distributed theatrically in the United States starting February 26, 2010.
On January 5, 2010, TVGuide.com confirmed that Van Der Beek had been cast in a major recurring role on the television series Mercy. He played Dr. Joe Briggs, the new womanizing ICU chief who harbors a dark secret. He starred alongside Rhona Mitra, Josh Lucas, and Jon Hamm in the Anders Anderson thriller film Stolen.
In 2011, he portrayed Kesha's nemesis in her music video for "Blow". He portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on the television series Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. The show debuted to critical praise, with Van Der Beek earning particularly good notices for his comic timing and sendup of his own image. The show was cancelled after two seasons; the series streamed on Netflix and reruns aired on Logo TV.
On March 4, 2015, he began his role as Senior Field Agent Elijah Mundo on CSI: Cyber. In 2017, Van Der Beek appeared in the British comedy series Carters Get Rich. He made a cameo in the film Downsizing (2017), starring Matt Damon, and voices Boris Hauntley in the Disney Junior show Vampirina.
As a writer, Van Der Beek co-created, wrote, produced and starred in What Would Diplo Do?, in which he portrays producer and DJ Diplo. It was Van Der Beek's first foray as a showrunner of a series. The show debuted on Viceland to positive reviews, both for the writing and Van Der Beek's performance, was called, "The Veep of DJ Culture" by the L.A. Times and scored 90% on Rotten Tomatoes
In 2019, Van Der Beek was cast in the drama series Pose as Matt Bromley on FX, a role he played for one season.
Van Der Beek joined the cast of the 28th season of Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Emma Slater. A surprisingly good dancer, Van Der Beek was consistently scored in the top spot and favored to win until he was eliminated in the semi-finals, finishing in fifth place. That night, he revealed that his wife, Kimberly, had suffered a miscarriage forty-eight hours prior. The judges scored him lowest, and then, in a decision that was controversial with fans, was eliminated.
In 2025, Van Der Beek competed on season thirteen of The Masked Singer as "Griffin" which featured wings that spread open at some points during his performances. There was a reference to Van Der Beek's illness in the clues. He was eliminated in the "Group B Finals: Grand Ole Opry Night". As an added bonus, Nick Cannon surprised Van Der Beek by bringing his wife Kimberly Brook and their children out.
== Personal life ==
Van Der Beek was married to actress Heather McComb from 2003 until their separation in April 2009. Van Der Beek filed for divorce later that year; the divorce was finalized later in 2010.
Van Der Beek married business consultant Kimberly Brook on August 1, 2010, in a small ceremony at the Kabbalah Center near Dizengoff Plaza in Tel Aviv, Israel. The couple have six children: four daughters (born 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2018) and two sons. He has spoken about a miscarriage Brook suffered in November 2019, just a month after announcing she was pregnant. On November 22, 2021, following the birth of their sixth child, he disclosed that she had actually suffered two miscarriages at 17 weeks or later. In September 2020, he and Brook announced that they were leaving Los Angeles and moving to Texas.
=== Illness ===
On August 31, 2023, Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer; he did not make his diagnosis public until November 2024. He stated that he has "been privately dealing with this diagnosis and [has] been taking steps to resolve it" with the support of his family.
== Filmography ==
=== Television ===
=== Film ===
== Awards and nominations ==
MTV Movie Awards
Teen Choice Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
San Diego Film Festival
NewNowNext Awards
== References ==
== External links ==
James Van Der Beek at IMDb
James Van Der Beek on Twitter
James Van Der Beek on Facebook
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