- - James Van Der Beek Revealed His First Impressions of Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson Just Months Ago

Nicole MooreFebruary 12, 2026 at 2:01 AM

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ActorJames Van Der Beekdied at the age of 48, as reported by TMZ. Van Der Beek, who shared six children with his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, had been open about his battle with colorectal cancer before his February 11 death.

Van Der Beek began having mainstream success after he started playing Dawson Leery on the hit WB teen drama, Dawson's Creek, which ran for six seasons until 2003. Van Der Beek discussed his time on the series during an April 2025 panel at the Steel City Con, alongside his Dawson's Creek castmate, Kerr Smith.

While on stage before an audience of Dawson's Creek fans, Van Der Beek shared his first impressions of his castmates, Katie Holmes, who played Joey Potter, and Joshua Jackson, who played Pacey Witter. As Dawson's Creek viewers are aware, both Pacey and Dawson had romantic relationships with Joey over the course of the show.

Van Der Beek recalled first seeing Jackson at the Warner Bros. Ranch while test screening for the series. He said Jackson had "a sweater on" despite the weather in Burbank, California, being rather "hot." He also said that Jackson appeared to be "shadow boxing in the parking lot" after his screen test. According to Van Der Beek, he immediately thought Jackson was the perfect fit for Pacey.

"I'm like, 'If that guy's Pacey, this is going to be really interesting.' And that was Joshua Jackson. And I was like, 'Oh that guy would be really, really good,'" said Van Der Beek on the panel.

He then said that he met Holmes when production for the show started in Wilmington, North Carolina.

"Then I got to Wilmington and I met Katie and I'm like, 'Okay, everybody in America is going to fall in love with this one,'" said the Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23 star.

In addition, he said that when he was introduced to Michelle Williams, who played Jen Lindley, he viewed her as "this enigma wrapped in a mystery."

"She was like so good," said the actor while on stage with Smith.

While Van Der Beek was impressed with his castmates, he said he didn't think Dawson's Creek would have longevity. He explained he believed Dawson's Creek would have a similar lifespan to the beloved 1994 series, My So-Called Life, which only aired one season.

"Like this could be like My So-Called Life. This could be one of those shows that runs for a little while and gets canceled before it's time. And that was my biggest hope for it," revealed the actor during the Steel City Con.

This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”