Varsity Blues star Ali Larter publicly reacted to James Van Der Beek’s death at age 48 following his battle with cancer.
“My heart goes out to Kimberly and his six beautiful children,” Larter, 50, told Entertainment Tonight on Sunday, March 1, at the 2026 Actor Awards. “He just had such grace within him and that’s really what I think he gifted to the world. My heart is with his family.”
Van Der Beek starred in the 1999 sports comedy-drama as Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, an academically successful but rebellious backup quarterback for his high school varsity football team. Larter played Darcy Sears.
The film also starred Jon Voight, Scott Caan and late actors Paul Walker and Ron Lester.
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Van Der Beek’s death was confirmed in a statement shared via his Instagram page on February 11.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” the statement read. “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.”
The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to Us Weekly that Van Der Beek was pronounced dead at 6:44 a.m. on Wednesday. A medical professional made the call to the examiner’s office.
Van Der Beek announced his stage III colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024.
“I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” he told People at the time. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”
Van Der Beek said he first noticed symptoms in 2023. Doctors discovered the cancer during a colonoscopy.
Van Der Beek was very vocal about his illness prior to his death, often advocating for people to speak with their doctors if they notice symptoms.
“Even just the slightest little change, it could be something, but … don’t think that not having symptoms means you don’t have to get screened, especially for something that is this curable when caught early,” he said in a July 2025 interview with Today.com. “That’s really what I want to get across. I ate as well as I could. I was healthy. I was in amazing cardiovascular shape. There was no reason in my mind that I should have gotten a positive diagnosis.”
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In his final interview before his death, Van Der Beek said cancer was the “best thing” to happen to him.
“As soon as I heard the news [about my colorectal cancer diagnosis], I went into shock,” he told Today’s Craig Melvin in December 2025. “One of the things I was really lucky about was, as soon as I heard the news, I thought, ‘This is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me.’”
Van Der Beek added that a voice in his head told him, “You’re gonna make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn’t have this extreme of a diagnosis and it’s going to add healthy, happy years to your life.”
James is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek — whom he married in August 2010 — and their six children: daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia and Gwendolyn and sons Joshua and Jeremiah.
