Joshua Jackson has spoken publicly about the death of James Van Der Beek for the first time.
In an exclusive interview on the Today show on March 10, 2026, Jackson opened up about losing his Dawson’s Creek co-star, and what he said about the man Van Der Beek became is worth reading slowly.
“He became what we used to just call a good man,” Jackson said. “A man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that allowed him to face the impossible with grace, an unbelievable partner and husband, just a real man who showed up for his family and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father.”
He then said something that stops you cold: “I know that I’m really just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life.”
James Van Der Beek died in February 2026 at the age of 48, after publicly revealing in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
His death sent shockwaves through the entertainment world and prompted an outpouring of grief from his Dawson’s Creek castmates and from the generation of viewers who grew up watching the show.
Jackson, 47, had not spoken publicly about the death until today.
What Did Joshua Jackson Say?
The grief, Jackson made clear, is not something he has processed and put away. It is still moving through him.
“I think it hits in a variety of different ways,” he said. “For me as a father now, I think the enormity of that tragedy for his family hits me in a very different way than just as a colleague. So I think the processing is ongoing.”
That word, ongoing, carries weight.
Jackson became a father himself in recent years, and what he is describing is the particular horror of losing a peer who was, above all else, defined by his role as a husband and father.
Van Der Beek is survived by his wife Kimberly and their six children.
Jackson also reflected on what the two men shared, the strange, formational experience of being young and becoming famous together on a show that meant so much to so many people.
“He and I shared this very amazing time… and it was formational for us,” he said. “I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness.”
But he was careful not to make the story about himself. The footnote comment, the deliberate, generous act of stepping back and saying that what Van Der Beek built in his private life mattered more than any of the fame, is the kind of tribute that says something real about both men.
The Dawson’s Creek Reunion
Jackson also spoke about the Dawson’s Creek reunion that took place last September, which Van Der Beek missed due to health complications.
Van Der Beek filmed a prerecorded video message for the event, which was held to raise money for the nonprofit F Cancer.
The reunion brought together the cast in front of roughly 1,400 fans.
“We were there to be able to help his family through his treatment,” Jackson said. “The purpose of it was beautiful.”
He described the experience of standing in a theater with that many people who loved the show as a reminder of something easy to forget when you are inside the making of a television series, that it actually goes out into the world and touches people.
“For our little crew of people, that’s just something that we shared,” he said.
“But when you have 1,400 people sitting in a theater, you are reminded that it actually went out there into the world and had impact on other people.”
He called it something like a college reunion, the cast sharing a formational experience, but also being able to witness the impact Van Der Beek had on others in real time, and to see it reflected in the faces of his children.
Why Jackson Is Speaking Now
Jackson’s Today appearance was tied to a partnership with the NHL and AstraZeneca as part of the pharmaceutical company’s Get Body Checked Against Cancer campaign, which promotes the importance of cancer screening in men.
Jackson is the face of the initiative, a role he said he took partly because of what happened to Van Der Beek.
“I’m at the age, right? Like so many people, my family has been touched by cancer,” he said.
“Obviously, when James got his diagnosis, and now I’m thinking about a contemporary of mine going through something like this…”
He was pointed about why men in particular resist getting screened:
“Guys don’t like to talk about this. We don’t like to go to the doctor, we don’t like to deal with this stuff. And I know a lot of ways in your life, like that stiff upper lip thing can be helpful, but in this it’s not helpful at all.”
Van Der Beek himself became a passionate advocate for colorectal cancer screening after his diagnosis, and was a paid spokesperson for Guardant Health, which offers a blood test to screen for colon cancer.
He was diagnosed at 46. The American Cancer Society recommends screening beginning at 45 for people with average risk, earlier for those with elevated risk.
Who Was James Van Der Beek?
James Van Der Beek rose to fame playing Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, the beloved teen drama that ran from 1998 to 2003.
The show made him a household name and helped launch the careers of several of his co-stars, including Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes, and Michelle Williams.
Beyond Dawson’s Creek, Van Der Beek built a career across film and television that spanned decades, and in later years became widely admired for the openness and grace with which he faced his illness.
He spoke publicly about his diagnosis, advocated for early screening, and continued working and showing up for his family until the end.
He was 48 years old. He is survived by his wife Kimberly and their six children.
Joshua Jackson called him a good man. By every account, that was exactly right.
