Joshua Jackson paid tribute to late co-star James Van Der Beek on Tuesday, marking the Pacey actor’s first public statement since the “Dawson’s Creek” star’s death last month.
“I think it hits in a variety of different ways. 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,” Jackson told “Today” host Craig Melvin. “He and I shared this very amazing time … and it was formational for us. I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness.”
“But I will also say that I know that I’m really just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life,” he continued. “He became what we used to just call a good man, 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.”
Van Der Beek died at age 48 on Feb. 11 after publicly battling colorectal cancer since November 2024 following his initial diagnosis in August 2023. In turn, Jackson has partnered with AstraZeneca for its Get Body Checked Against Cancer campaign with the NHL to promote cancer screenings.
“I’m at the age, right? Like so many people, my family has been touched by cancer,” Jackson explained. “Obviously, when James got his diagnosis, and now I’m thinking about a contemporary of mine going through something like this.”
“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,” he further noted. “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.”
The pair starred together across all six seasons of “Dawson’s Creek” from 1998 to 2003. Van Der Beek is survived by his wife Kimberly and six children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.
