James Van Der Beek

James David Van Der Beek<ref name="25 Things About Me">Template:Cite magazine</ref> (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> born March 8, 1977)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 (Template:Née; 1950–2020),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but he left the university when Dawson's Creek started production.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.Template:Citation needed 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.Template:Citation needed 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He starred alongside Rhona Mitra, Josh Lucas, and Jon Hamm in the Anders Anderson thriller film Stolen.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, he portrayed Kesha's nemesis in her music video for "Blow".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He made a cameo in the film Downsizing (2017), starring Matt Damon, and voices Boris Hauntley in the Disney Junior show Vampirina.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was called, "The Veep of DJ Culture" by the L.A. Times<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and scored 90% on Rotten Tomatoes<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2019, Van Der Beek was cast in the drama series Pose as Matt Bromley <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> on FX, a role he played for one season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Van Der Beek was married to actress Heather McComb from 2003 until their separation in April 2009.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Van Der Beek filed for divorce later that year;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the divorce was finalized later in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Van Der Beek married business consultant Kimberly Brook on August 1, 2010, in a small ceremony at the Kabbalah Center near Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, Israel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple has six children: four daughters (born 2010,<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 2014,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> 2016,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 2018<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) and two sons.<ref>Van Der Beek, James, in Template:Cite news</ref> He has spoken about a miscarriage Brook suffered in November 2019,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> just a month after announcing she was pregnant.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2020, he and Brook announced that they were leaving Los Angeles and moving to Texas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2025, Van Der Beek announced he would be auctioning items from Dawson's Creek and Varsity Blues in efforts to assist with costs associated with his cancer treatment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Clarissa Explains It All	Paulie	Episode: "Alter Ego"
1995	As the World Turns	Stephen Anderson	3 episodes
1996	Aliens in the Family	Ethan	Episode: "You Don't Have a Pet to Be Popular"
1998–2003	Dawson's Creek	Dawson Leery	Main cast; 122 episodes
2006	Robot Chicken	Various Voices	2 episodes
2007	Criminal Minds	Tobias Hankel / Raphael
	Ugly Betty	Luke Carnes	Episode: "Grin and Bear It"
	Eye of the Beast	Dan Leland	Television film
2008–2013	How I Met Your Mother	Simon	3 episodes
2008–2009	One Tree Hill	Adam Reese	4 episodes
2009	Medium	Dylan Hoyt	Episode: "All in the Family"
	Template:Sortname	Dr. Jonathan Kirk	Miniseries; 2 episodes
	Template:Sortname	Judd Shaw	Episode: "Lucky John"
	Taken in Broad Daylight	Anthony Steven "Tony Zappa" Wright	Television film
	Mrs. Miracle	Seth Webster
2010	Mercy	Dr. Joe Briggs	10 episodes
2011	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Rex Tamlyn	Episode: "To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap"
	Franklin & Bash	Nathan	Episode: "Bachelor Party"
	Salem Falls	Jack St. Bride	Television film
2012–2013	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	James Van Der Beek	Main cast; 26 episodes
2012	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Sean Albert	Episode: "Father Dearest"
2013	The Eric André Show	James Van Der Beek/Team Go! Member #2	Episode 2 : "James Van Der Beek / Steve-O", "Lauren Conrad; Reese Witherspoon"
2014	Friends with Better Lives	Will Stokes	Main cast; 13 episodes
2015–2016	CSI: Cyber	Elijah Mundo	Main cast
2017	Carters Get Rich	Trent Zebrisky
	What Would Diplo Do?	Diplo	Co-creator, writer
	Room 104	Scott	Episode: "Pizza Boy"
2017–2021	Vampirina	Boris Hauntley (voice)	Main cast
2017	Modern Family	Bo Johnson	Episode: "No Small Feet"
	Drop the Mic	Himself	Episode: "James Van Der Beek vs. Randall Park / Gina Rodriguez vs. Rob Gronkowski"
2018	Pose	Matt Bromley	Main cast (season 1)
2019	Dancing with the Stars	Himself	Season 28
2020	25 Words or Less		Game Show
2024	We Are Family	Himself with oldest daughter Olivia	Season finale
2025	The Masked Singer	Himself/Griffin	Season 13 contestant
	Overcompensating	Charlie	2 episodes<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2026	Elle	Dean Wilson	Filming

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Angus	Rick Sandford
1996	I Love You, I Love You Not	Tony
1998	Harvest	James Peterson
1999	Varsity Blues	Jonathon "Mox" Moxon
2000	Scary Movie	Dawson Leery	Uncredited
2001	Texas Rangers	Ranger Lincoln Rogers Dunnison
	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back	Himself
2002	Template:Sortname	Sean Bateman
2003	Castle in the Sky	Pazu	Voice; English dub produced in 1998 by Disney
2005	Standing Still	Simon
2006	Template:Sortname	Tom Russell	Direct-to-video
2007	Final Draft	Paul Twist
2009	Formosa Betrayed	Jake Kelly
	Stolen	Diploma / Roggiani
2010	Template:Sortname	Adam Nova
2012	Backwards	Geoff
2013	Template:Sortname	Joe	Short film
	Labor Day	Officer Treadwell
2015	Power/Rangers	Rocky DeSantos / Red Ranger	Short film, screenwriter
2017	Downsizing	Anesthesiologist
2019	Jay and Silent Bob Reboot	Himself
2020	Bad Hair	Grant
2024	Sidelined: The QB and Me	Leroy Lahey	Tubi original

Awards and nominations

MTV Movie Awards

Template:Awards table |- ||1999 || Varsity Blues |Best Breakthrough Male Performance |Template:Won |- |2001 |Scary Movie |Best Cameo in a Movie |Template:Won |}

Teen Choice Awards

Template:Awards table |- |rowspan="2"|1999 || Dawson's Creek |Choice TV Actor |Template:Nom |- || Varsity Blues |Choice Movie Breakout Star |Template:Won |- |2012 |Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 |Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer |Template:Nom |}

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

Template:Awards table |- |2000 | Varsity Blues |Favorite Actor – Newcomer (Internet Only) |Template:Nom |}

San Diego Film Festival

<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Awards table |- |2009 | Formosa Betrayed |Best Actor |Template:Won |}

NewNowNext Awards

Template:Awards table |- |2011 | JamesVanDerMemes.com<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |OMG Internet Award |Template:Won |}

External links

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