Joshua Jackson broke his silence on the death of his Dawson’s Creek costar James Van Der Beek nearly one month after he died at age 48.
Jackson, 47, discussed Van Der Beek’s death during a Tuesday, March 10, appearance on the Today show. When host Craig Melvin asked whether Jackson had processed the loss, the actor explained that it’s a work in progress.
“I think it hits in a variety of different ways, and so 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 processing is ongoing,” he said.
“He and I shared this amazing time where that [Dawson’s Creek] clip comes from at a very young point in our life and it was formational for us, and I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness,” Jackson continued. “But I will also say that I know that I’m really just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life. … 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. And so while on the one hand, that’s beautiful, and I think he did lead a very good life and he was a good man, the tragedy of that for his family is enormous.”
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Jackson was on hand to discuss his partnership with AstraZeneca, which encourages people to get regular cancer screenings. The Affair alum explained that his choice to partner with the company was inspired by his own family history of cancer as well as his experience of watching Van Der Beek, a peer, receive a diagnosis.
Dawson’s Creek, which aired from 1998 to 2003, followed a close-knit group of teens navigating their way through Capeside High School and college — with Pacey (Jackson) and Dawson (Van Der Beek) finding themselves in an ongoing love triangle with Joey (Katie Holmes.)
News broke on February 11 that Van Der Beek died after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” Kimberly wrote via Instagram at the time. “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. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Van Der Beek initially shared his diagnosis with colorectal cancer in 2024.
“Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I’m one of them,” he shared in an Instagram post at the time, noting that he was “in a good place and feeling strong” while undergoing treatment.
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Jackson, for his part, supported his former costar at the Dawson’s Creek reunion in September 2025 alongside several members of the show’s cast to raise money for F Cancer. Van Der Beek, meanwhile, shared he wouldn’t be in attendance at the event because he was battling an illness.
“This is the evening I’d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January… So you can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “Despite every effort… I won’t get to be there. I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most.”
Months before the reunion, Van Der Beek made headlines when he shared that the Dawson’s Creek cast didn’t speak for years after the beloved series came to an end.
“It’s just been so great to talk to them and catch up with, like, who they are now this many years out and to have that shared experience from back in the day,” he said on the “Whine Down” podcast in March 2025. “It’s just so lovely every time I get to catch up with one of them.”
He continued, “We all went our separate ways and just didn’t speak for years because we were just living our lives and doing our things. And to just kind of reconnect and be like, ‘Oh, wow, I love who you’ve become.’”
