James Van Der Beek

In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Der Beek, not Beek.

James Van Der Beek
Van Der Beek at GalaxyCon Austin in 2023
Born	James David Van Der Beek (1977-03-08) March 8, 1977 (age 47) Cheshire, Connecticut, U.S.
Education	Cheshire Academy
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Spouses	Heather McComb ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2010)​ Kimberly Brook ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	6

James David Van Der Beek^[1] (/ˈvændərˌbiːk/;^[2] born March 8, 1977)^[3] is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery on The WB's Dawson's Creek (1998–2003), he also played a fictionalized version of himself on the cult ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012–2013), starred on CSI: Cyber as FBI Agent Elijah Mundo (2015–2016), and appeared as Matt Bromley on the first season of the FX drama Pose (2018).

His film credits include Varsity Blues (1998), Texas Rangers (2001), The Rules of Attraction (2002), Formosa Betrayed (2009), Labor Day (2013), and Bad Hair (2020).

Early life

Van Der Beek was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, the son of Melinda (née Weber; 1950–2020),^[4] a former dancer and gymnastics teacher, and husband James William Van Der Beek, a cellular phone company executive and former minor league baseball pitcher. He is of Dutch, German, English, Scots-Irish, and French descent; his last name translates to "from the creek" in Dutch.^[5][6]

Career

Theatre

Van Der Beek played the role of Reuben in his middle school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. At the age of 15, he asked his mother to take him into New York City to get an agent and try his hand in professional acting. He made his professional debut off-Broadway at age 16 in 1993 in the New York premiere of Edward Albee's play Finding the Sun with the Signature Theatre Company. He played the role of "Fergus". Both he and the production, which was also directed by Albee, received positive reviews.^[7][8] A decade later, in 2003, he appeared again off-Broadway, briefly, in the play Rain Dance.

At 17, while still in high school at Cheshire Academy, he performed in the musical Shenandoah at the Goodspeed Opera House, made his feature film debut as a sadistic bully in Angus (1995) and shot a small role in the independent film I Love You, I Love You Not (1996).

He attended Drew University on an academic scholarship, where he participated in an all-male a cappella group,^[9] but dropped out once Dawson's Creek was picked up to series.^[10] He performed at the Vineyard Theater in New York in Nicky Silver's play, My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine, and he played a supporting role in the independent film Cash Crop, which was originally shot in spring of 1997 and originally titled Harvest until released in 2001.^[11]

Television and film

In early 1997, Van Der Beek auditioned for three television pilots. One of them was for the fledgling WB Network show Dawson's Creek. Van Der Beek won the title role of Dawson Leery, and the show's 1998 debut was a success that helped to establish the network and its cast. The series ran for six seasons and was syndicated worldwide. In 1999, he starred in the teen football drama Varsity Blues, which held the number 1 spot at the U.S. box office for its first two weeks.^[12] He won an MTV Movie Award for his role.

Around this time he was selected one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World", and he appeared in several other films, including Texas Rangers, Scary Movie, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, playing himself playing Jay in the film within the film opposite Jason Biggs as Silent Bob.^{[citation needed]} In 2002, he played Sean Bateman (younger brother of American Psycho protagonist Patrick Bateman) in the film adaptation of the novel The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis, written and directed by Roger Avary. The film was an initial box office failure but found a cult following on DVD.^[13]

In 2006, he appeared on the Direct-to-DVD thriller The Plague, which was produced by Clive Barker and was panned by critics. After Dawson's Creek ended in 2003, he returned to off-Broadway, in Lanford Wilson's Rain Dance. He completed an unproduced screenplay titled Winning. Since then, he made a few appearances on television, including a role on Ugly Betty. In 2007, he guest-starred in a two-part episode of the series Criminal Minds, playing a serial killer with dissociative identity disorder called Tobias Hankel who kidnaps and drugs one of the main characters, Spencer Reid. In 2008, he made a guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother, in which he played Simon, one of Robin Scherbatsky’s early boyfriends, multiple times.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, he began a recurring role on One Tree Hill as a filmmaker who was largely the satirical opposite of Dawson Leery. He appeared in an episode of the fifth season of Medium. In 2009, he portrayed real life kidnapper Anthony Steven "Tony Zappa" Wright in the Lifetime network television film Taken In Broad Daylight.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, he won Best Actor at the 8th Annual San Diego Film Festival for his portrayal of FBI agent Jake Kelly working in Taiwan in the political thriller Formosa Betrayed, which also won Best Picture. The film was distributed theatrically in the United States starting February 26, 2010.^[14]

On January 5, 2010, TVGuide.com confirmed that Van Der Beek had been cast in a major recurring role on the television series Mercy. He played Dr. Joe Briggs, the new womanizing ICU chief who harbors a dark secret.^[15] He starred alongside Rhona Mitra, Josh Lucas, and Jon Hamm in the Anders Anderson thriller film Stolen.^[16]

In 2011, he portrayed Kesha's nemesis in her music video for "Blow".^[17] He portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on the television series Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. The show debuted to critical praise, with Van Der Beek earning particularly good notices for his comic timing and sendup of his own image.^[18] The show was cancelled after two seasons but remains popular on Netflix and on Logo TV, which picked it up in syndication.

On March 4, 2015, he began his role as Senior Field Agent Elijah Mundo on CSI: Cyber. In 2017, Van Der Beek appeared in the British comedy series Carters Get Rich.^[19] He made a cameo in the film Downsizing (2017), starring Matt Damon, and voices Boris Hauntley in the Disney Junior show Vampirina.^[20][21][22]

As a writer, Van Der Beek co-created, wrote, produced and starred in What Would Diplo Do?, in which he portrays producer and DJ Diplo. It was Van Der Beek's first foray as a showrunner of a series. The show debuted on Viceland to positive reviews, both for the writing and Van Der Beek's performance,^[23] was called, “The Veep of DJ Culture” by the L.A. Times^[24] and scored 90% on Rotten Tomatoes^[25]

In 2019, Van Der Beek was cast in the Emmy-nominated Pose as Matt Bromley ^[26] on FX, a role he played for one season.^[27]

Van Der Beek joined the cast of the 28th season of Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Emma Slater. A surprisingly good dancer,^[28] Van Der Beek was consistently scored in the top spot and favored to win until he was eliminated in the semi-finals, finishing in fifth place. That night, he revealed that his wife, Kimberly, had suffered a miscarriage forty-eight hours prior. The judges scored him lowest, and then, in a decision that was controversial with fans, sent him home.^[29][30][31]

Personal life

Van Der Beek was married to actress Heather McComb from 2003 until their separation in April 2009.^[32] Van Der Beek filed for divorce in the fourth quarter of that year;^[33] the divorce was finalized and enforced in the second quarter of 2010.^[34]

Van Der Beek married business consultant Kimberly Brook on August 1, 2010, in a small ceremony at the Kabbalah Center near Dizengoff Plaza in Tel Aviv, Israel.^[35][36] The couple have six children: four daughters (born 2010,^[37][38] 2014,^[39][40] 2016,^[41][42] and 2018^[43]) and two sons.^[44] He has spoken about a miscarriage Brook suffered in November 2019,^[45] just a month after announcing she was pregnant.^[46] Following the birth of their sixth child, he disclosed that she had actually suffered two miscarriages at 17 weeks or later, explaining in a November 22, 2021 announcement on Instagram that the couple had waited five weeks to publicly announce the arrival of their sixth child as they had not wanted to disclose the pregnancy any earlier.^{[citation needed]} In September 2020, he and Brook announced that they were leaving Los Angeles and moving to Texas.^[47]

Illness

On August 31, 2023, Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer; he did not make his diagnosis public until November 2024. He stated that he has "been privately dealing with this diagnosis and [has] been taking steps to resolve it" with the support of his family.^[48]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Clarissa Explains It All	Paulie	Episode: "Alter Ego"
1995	As the World Turns	Stephen Anderson	3 episodes
1996	Aliens in the Family	Ethan	Episode: "You Don't Have a Pet to Be Popular"
1998–2003	Dawson's Creek	Dawson Leery	Main cast; 122 episodes
2006	Robot Chicken	Various Voices	2 episodes
2007	Criminal Minds	Tobias Hankel / Raphael	2 episodes
	Ugly Betty	Luke Carnes	Episode: "Grin and Bear It"
	Eye of the Beast	Dan Leland	Television film
2008–2013	How I Met Your Mother	Simon	3 episodes
2008–2009	One Tree Hill	Adam Reese	4 episodes
2009	Medium	Dylan Hoyt	Episode: "All in the Family"
	The Storm	Dr. Jonathan Kirk	Miniseries; 2 episodes
	The Forgotten	Judd Shaw	Episode: "Lucky John"
	Taken in Broad Daylight	Anthony Steven "Tony Zappa" Wright	Television film
	Mrs. Miracle	Seth Webster	Television film
2010	Mercy	Dr. Joe Briggs	10 episodes
2011	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Rex Tamlyn	Episode: "To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap"
	Franklin & Bash	Nathan	Episode: "Bachelor Party"
	Salem Falls	Jack St. Bride	Television film
2012–2013	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	James Van Der Beek	Main cast; 26 episodes
2012	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Sean Albert	Episode: "Father Dearest"
2013	The Eric André Show	James Van Der Beek Team Go! Member #2	Episode: "James Van Der Beek / Steve-O" Episode: "Lauren Conrad; Reese Witherspoon"
2014	Friends with Better Lives	Will Stokes	Main cast; 13 episodes
2015–2016	CSI: Cyber	Elijah Mundo	Main cast
2017	Carters Get Rich	Trent Zebrisky	Main cast
	What Would Diplo Do?	Diplo	Co-creator, writer
	Room 104	Scott	Episode: "Pizza Boy"
2017–2021	Vampirina	Boris Hauntley (voice)	Main cast
2017	Modern Family	Bo Johnson	Episode: "No Small Feet"
	Drop the Mic	Himself	Episode: "James Van Der Beek vs. Randall Park / Gina Rodriguez vs. Rob Gronkowski"
2018	Pose	Matt Bromley	Main cast (season 1)
2019	Dancing with the Stars	Himself	Season 28
2020	25 Words or Less	Himself	Game Show
2024	We Are Family	Himself with oldest daughter Olivia	Season finale

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Castle in the Sky	Pazu	Voice English dub produced in 1998 by Disney
1995	Angus	Rick Sandford
1996	I Love You, I Love You Not	Tony
1998	Harvest	James Peterson
1999	Varsity Blues	Jonathon "Mox" Moxon
2000	Scary Movie	Dawson Leery	Uncredited
2001	Texas Rangers	Ranger Lincoln Rogers Dunnison
	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back	Himself
2002	The Rules of Attraction	Sean Bateman
2003	Castle in the Sky	Pazu	Voice (English dub, 1998)
2005	Standing Still	Simon
2006	The Plague	Tom Russell	Direct-to-video
2007	Final Draft	Paul Twist
2009	Formosa Betrayed	Jake Kelly
	Stolen	Diploma / Roggiani
2010	The Big Bang	Adam Nova
2012	Backwards	Geoff
2013	The Magic Bracelet	Joe	Short film
	Labor Day	Officer Treadwell
2015	Power/Rangers	Rocky DeSantos / Red Ranger	Short film, screenwriter
2017	Downsizing	Anesthesiologist
2019	Jay and Silent Bob Reboot	Himself
2020	Bad Hair	Grant
2024	Sidelined: The QB and Me	Leroy Lahey

Awards and nominations

MTV Movie Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1999	Varsity Blues	Best Breakthrough Male Performance	Won
2001	Scary Movie	Best Cameo in a Movie	Won

Teen Choice Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1999	Dawson's Creek	Choice TV Actor	Nominated
	Varsity Blues	Choice Movie Breakout Star	Won
2012	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer	Nominated

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2000	Varsity Blues	Favorite Actor – Newcomer (Internet Only)	Nominated

San Diego Film Festival

^[49]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2009	Formosa Betrayed	Best Actor	Won

NewNowNext Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2011	JamesVanDerMemes.com[50]	OMG Internet Award	Won

References

1. "James Van Der Beek: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me". Us Weekly. January 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
2. "Island Hoppers | Episode 1. Well-Crafted Comedy | Carnival Cruise Line x Thrillist". Carnival Cruise Line. October 1, 2019. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
3. "UPI Almanac for Sunday, March 8, 2020". United Press International. March 8, 2020. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020. …actor James Van Der Beek in 1977 (age 43)
4. "rep-am.com". Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
5. "Van Der Beek". Behind the Name. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
6. "James Van Der Beek profile". Filmreference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
7. Richards, David (February 10, 1994). "Review/Theater; 3 Albee One-Acters About People Boxed In". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
8. Canby, Vincent (February 20, 1994). "SUNDAY VIEW; A Season of Albee, Obsessions Safely Intact". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
9. Chin, Mike (January 23, 2009). "Friday Factoid: James Van Der Beek". The A Cappella Blog. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
10. "James Van Der Beek: Actor". People. May 11, 1998. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
11. Rabin, Nathan (April 19, 2002). "Cash Crop". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
12. "Varsity Blues (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
13. "THE RULES OF ATTRACTION Review". Aintitcool.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
14. "Formosa Betrayed". Formosathemovie.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
15. Eng, Joyce. "James Van Der Beek Scrubs In to Mercy". TVGuide.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
16. "STOLEN, Starring Jon Hamm & Josh Lucas Acquired". Ifcfilms.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
17. Franich, Darren (February 26, 2011). "James Van Der Beek talks Ke$ha, killing unicorns, and playing himself". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
18. "Review:Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23". The Hollywood Reporter. April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
19. Tartaglione, Nancy (June 28, 2016). "James Van Der Beek To Star In Sky 1 Comedy 'Carters Get Rich'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
20. Valerio, Britt (June 27, 2017). "James Van Der Beek and Lauren Graham Will Star in Disney Junior's Vampirina This Fall". Oh My Disney. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
21. Cap, Jocelin (September 27, 2017). "James Van Der Beek Describes Vampirina Boris Hauntley". BSC Kids. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
22. Logan, Michael (June 27, 2017). "Lauren Graham and James Van Der Beek Head a Starry Voice Cast in Disney Junior's 'Vampirina'". TV Insider. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
23. "TV Review: 'What Would Diplo Do?' Starring James van der Beek". July 31, 2017.
24. "Review: James van der Beek is a superstar DJ in the painfully funny 'What Would Diplo Do?'". Los Angeles Times. August 3, 2017.
25. "What Would Diplo Do?". Rotten Tomatoes.
26. "Pose".
27. Hyman, Dan (June 7, 2018). "James van der Beek Doesn't Cry in His New TV Role". The New York Times.
28. "James van der Beek is the 'DWTS' Season 28 Front-Runner: Premiere Recap". September 17, 2019.
29. "James van der Beek deserves a second chance on 'Dancing with the Stars,' and so do these 12 other screwed celebs". December 4, 2019.
30. "Yes, the 'Dancing with the Stars' judges screwed up axing James van der Beek — and this is probably why they did it". November 19, 2019.
31. "James van der Beek talks joyful 'Dancing with the Stars' return (Stays mum on elimination)". USA Today.
32. "James Van Der Beek, Wife Split". Us Weekly. June 9, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
33. Bryant, Adam. "James Van Der Beek Files for Divorce". TV Guide.
34. "James Van Der Beek reaches divorce settlement with ex". Entertainment Weekly. March 31, 2010. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
35. Oh, Eunice; Jordan, Julie (August 2, 2010). "Details of James Van Der Beek's Spiritual Wedding in Israel Revealed". People. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018.
36. Foundation, Nathanson (August 1, 2010). "מזל טוב: דוסון נשוי" [Mazal Tov: Dawson Marries]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Ynet. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
37. Van Der Beek, James [@vanderjames] (September 27, 2010). "Olivia Van Der Beek, born 9/25" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 16, 2012 – via Twitter.
38. Nudd, Tim (September 28, 2010). "James Van Der Beek Welcomes Daughter Olivia". People.
39. Lewis, Raha (January 31, 2014). "James and Kimberly Van Der Beek Welcome Daughter Annabel Leah". People. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. his rep tells People exclusively.
40. Van Der Beek, Kimberly (January 31, 2014). "We named our baby girl". Kimberly Brook verified Instagram account. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. [graphical text image] Annabel
41. Van Der Beek, James (March 25, 2016). "Happy to share that two days ago, @vanderkimberly and I were lucky enough to welcome a little baby girl into the world...Emilia Van Der Beek". James Van Der Beek verified Instagram account. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021.
42. Stark, George; Michaud, Sarah; Leonard, Elizabeth (March 25, 2016). "James Van Der Beek Welcomes Daughter Emilia". People.
43. Leonard, Elizabeth; Mizoguchi, Karen (June 17, 2018). "James Van Der Beek and Wife Kimberly Welcome Fifth Child". People. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
44. Van Der Beek, James, in Derschowitz, Jessica (March 14, 2012). "James Van Der Beek and wife welcome a son". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019. Had my first son this morning.... James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames) March 13, 2012
45. "James Van Der Beek Reveals Wife Kimberly Suffered a Miscarriage: 'We Lost the Baby'". People. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
46. Murphy, Helen; Dugan, Christina (October 8, 2019). "James Van Der Beek Opens Up About Expecting 6th Child After Heartbreaking Miscarriages". People.
47. "James Van Der Beek and His Family Are Moving from Los Angeles to Texas: 'Onto the Next Big Adventure!'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
48. "Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek reveals cancer diagnosis". News.com.au. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
49. "Award Winners". San Diego Film Festival. January 23, 2011. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
50. "Vandermemes from James Van Der Beek, lauren, BoTown Sound, Antonio Scarlata, Danny Jelinek, Funny Or Die, Betsy Koch, Aubrey Binzer, and Christin Trogan". Funnyordie.com. January 4, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2016.

External links

• James Van Der Beek at IMDb
• James Van Der Beek on Twitter
• James Van Der Beek on Facebook