US actor James Van Der Beek, the star of the American TV series “Dawson’s Creek”, died on Wednesday at age 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” read a post on his Instagram page.
Van Der Beek, who was married and had six children, announced his cancer diagnosis in 2024.
He was best known for playing Dawson, the lead character of the eponymous 1998-2003 teen drama that followed a group of friends living in a small Massachusetts town.
While he also had roles in the films “Varsity Blues” and “The Rules of Attraction,” Van Der Beek never truly established himself in cinema, as he struggled to separate himself from the legacy of “Dawson’s Creek”.