James Van Der Beek typically felt like he was fleeing the ghost of Dawson Leery. As with so many actors who change into recognized for taking part in teen heartthrobs, that breakthrough function generally felt prefer it outlined Van Der Beek, who died this week after a two-year battle with colorectal most cancers. He sometimes discovered methods to disrupt that stereotype, generally even going straight on the All-American picture he had engendered in each the TV hit and “Varsity Blues” in roles that poked enjoyable at his persona, like “Don’t Belief the B—- in Condo 23” and “The Guidelines of Attraction.”
One of many many issues that’s so disheartening about his passing this week, which incorporates that he had medical payments so excessive {that a} GoFundMe has been began to make sure his six grieving kids aren’t kicked out of their residence, was that it felt like his quantity would ultimately be referred to as for a comeback. He’d get simply the proper half–he’s straightforward to image in a Nolan ensemble or perhaps a lead in a high-profile thriller–and we’d all speak about how his expertise was underestimated by the lowered expectations that include teen dramas. We’ve all been robbed of the JVDB comeback.
Van Der Beek is one in every of many actors who caught the bug at a younger age, showing in a center college manufacturing of Joseph and the Superb Technicolor Dreamcoat. He not solely caught it, however his mother and father supported it, taking him to Broadway to search out an agent, who landed him a job off-Broadway within the New York premiere of an Edward Albee play. He did some small work from right here whereas making an attempt to be a pupil, however he dropped out after touchdown a job within the pilot for a WB collection referred to as “Dawson’s Creek,” which turned an instantaneous hit. It ran for six seasons and made all of its stars into family names, together with Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson.
Early within the run of “Dawson’s Creek,” Van Der Beek landed his most impactful movie function because the lead in “Varsity Blues,” which was an enormous hit in 1998, touchdown at primary for 2 weeks and making over $50 million on a funds that was lower than a 3rd of that. It’s held up nicely, even when one simply enjoys it as a time capsule of the period wherein it was made, particularly in its solid of future stars like Paul Walker, Scott Caan, Amy Good, Ali Larter, and Jesse Plemons.
He labored recurrently within the early ‘00s, popping up in every little thing from “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Again” to “The Guidelines of Attraction,” a controversial semi-sequel to “American Psycho” wherein Van Der Beek performed Patrick Bateman’s brother Sean. Largely discarded on the time, it’s change into one thing of a reappraised cult basic over time. It’s proof of how Van Der Beek was interested by stretching his performing muscle mass, enjoying a drug seller that’s about as removed from Dawson as potential.
Sadly, films weren’t as interested by a grown-up JVDB. Movie roles had been robust, however he did seem extra persistently on TV, popping up in arcs on “One Tree Hill” and “How I Met Your Mom” earlier than touchdown a lead function in NBC’s “Mercy” after which ABC’s “Don’t Belief the B—- in Condo 23,” wherein he performed a model of himself. Regardless of robust opinions, that comedy was canceled shortly, and “CSI: Cyber” didn’t do significantly better. Nonetheless, Van Der Beek by no means actually walked away, showing in visitor roles on stuff like “Fashionable Household” and “Overcompensating,” and a lead function within the first season of the critically adored “Pose.”
In August 2023, Van Der Beek was identified with most cancers, though he didn’t make that public till over a 12 months later. In November of final 12 months, Van Der Beek was auctioning objects from the prime of his profession to assist pay his exorbitant medical payments. That we reside in a society wherein somebody who was as adored as he was for years can’t pay for the therapy to maintain him alive is shameful. Think about what non-celebrities undergo every single day with payments that derail not solely their futures however that of their kids. One hopes that this tragic loss shines a lightweight on how medical prices shackle individuals to unattainable debt, even the well-known.
As of this writing, the GoFundMe for Van Der Beek’s household has shattered its authentic objectives because it crests $1.5 million. It’s a sign of how a lot James Van Der Beek was cherished and admired as an individual; many who in all probability have payments of their very own simply wish to do one thing for the person who did a lot for them.