What Happened To James Van Der Beek After 'Dawson's Creek'?
Over the years, there have been a lot of teen shows that have risen to prominence. In most cases, those teen shows became hits largely because they tackled a plethora of sensational topics. Of course, any teen show that wants to find lengthy success has to feature compelling characters that viewers care about.
In the case of Dawson’s Creek, from the moment the show debuted it felt different than a lot of other teen shows. One of the main reasons why that was the case is that James Van Der Beek’s portrayal of the show’s titular character, Dawson Leery, was compelling from the start. Unfortunately, over time the show’s writers turned Leery into a whiny enough character that a lot of viewers came to care more about the series’ other characters. In fact, even Van Der Beek is happy that the show’s female lead wound up with another character.
Even though James Van Der Beek’s Dawson’s Creek character became less popular over time, there is no doubt that a lot of viewers remember him fondly. In fact, a lot of people continue to associate Van Der Beek more with an ugly cry meme than anything he has done over the last two decades. With that in mind, it begs an obvious question, what has James Van Der Beek been up to since Dawson’s Creek ended?
Rise To Fame
When James Van Der Beek was 15-years-old, he asked his mother to take him to New York City so they could find an agent. Of course, Van Der Beek’s belief in himself paid off for him in a big way. After making his off-Broadway debut at 16-years-old, Van Der Beek would go on to be a stage actor for a few years before he began to focus on film and television roles during the mid-‘90s.
After landing roles in a select few movies and TV shows, James Van Der Beek found himself auditioning for three TV pilots in quick succession. Fortunately for him, one of his auditions went exceedingly well as he landed the titular role in Dawson’s Creek.
On the air for six seasons, Dawson’s Creek was one of the most popular shows among young viewers throughout most of its run. In fact, fans became so invested in the series that many of them still want to know everything they can about what went on behind-the-scenes all of these years later.
Continued Career
In the years since Dawson’s Creek came to an end in 2003, a lot of the show’s fans have lost track of James Van Der Beek’s acting career. That is a real shame as Van Der Beek has gone on to do some great work since then.
Most notably, James Van Der Beek portrayed a fictional version of himself in the show Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. Easily among the best prematurely canceled shows from the last decade, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 was a hilarious show that starred Krysten Ritter. On top of that role, Van Der Beek has shown up in series like Ugly Betty and How I Met Your Mother. More importantly, Van Der Beek starred in CSI: Cyber and he currently headlines the Disney Channel animated show Vapirina. Of course, all of that is to say nothing about the movies Van Der Beek was a part of including Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Off-Camera
Since Dawson’s Creek aired its final episode more than seventeen years ago as of this writing, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that James Van Der Beek’s personal life has undergone a lot of changes. Even still, things have been so eventful for Van Der Beek off-camera that it is pretty wild. For example, from 2003 until 2010 Van Der Beek was married to the actor Heather McComb.
Thankfully for James Van Der Beek, he would go on to meet a business consultant named Kimberly Brook and they would get married in 2010. Still together to this day, the couple has seemingly enjoyed a lot of happiness as evidenced by the fact that they have five children together. Then, in 2019 Van Der Beek announced he was set to have a sixth child but that child was lost due to a miscarriage.
Sadly, far too many people know exactly how incredibly painful it is to lose a pregnancy but it is a subject that isn’t talked about much. As such, a lot of people feel alone after suffering that tragedy. To his credit, Van Der Beek spoke about his family suffering a miscarriage during an incredibly emotional episode of the show he was competing on at the time, Dancing with the Stars. On top of that, in 2017 Van Der Beek was courageous enough to speak out about a male executive who groped him in the past.
On the bright side, James Van Der Beek and his family seem to have found their own slice of heaven when they moved to Texas in 2020. While speaking with Today about his reasons for leaving Los Angeles behind, Van Der Beek described his son as being “like an animal in a cage that was too small” in their tiny backyard. Now Van Der Beek’s family has a lot of space to enjoy and James said they love it so much that their favorite thing to do is walk around identifying animal droppings.
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