James Van Der Beek

★ Acting #7,694

1977 - 2026 (age 48) • Acting

Born: 3/8/1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut, USA

Died: 2/11/2026 (age 48)

Known for: Acting

James Van Der Beek

★ Acting #7,694

James Van Der Beek (March 8, 1977 – February 11, 2026) was an American actor best known for his role as Dawson Leary on the television series Dawson's Creek.

Known For

How I Met Your Mother

81%

Simon Tremblay

2005

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

80%

Sean Albert

1999

Criminal Minds

83%

Tobias Hankel

2005

Modern Family

79%

Bo Johnson

2009

The Rules of Attraction

62%

Sean Bateman

2002

Dawson's Creek

73%

Dawson Leery

1998

POSE

83%

Matt

2018

One Tree Hill

78%

Adam Reese

2003

The Gates

77%

Jacob

2026

Sidelined 2: Intercepted

72%

Leroy Lahey

2025

Overcompensating

72%

Charlie

2025

Devil May Cry

82%

In Memory Of

2025

Sidelined: The QB and Me

64%

Leroy Lahey

2025

The Real Full Monty

40%

Self

2024

The Jennifer Hudson Show

56%

Self

2022

Bad Hair

56%

Grant Madison

2021

Fast Foodies

47%

Self

2021

Walker

71%

New Neighbour

2021

All-Time Favorite NFL Players Named by Celebrities, Players, and Coaches

20%

Self

2020

Home Movie: The Princess Bride

77%

Prince Humperdinck

2020

The Paley Center Salutes Law & Order: SVU

97%

Self

2020

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

57%

Self

2019

Under A Rock with Tig Notaro

60%

Self - Guest

2019

The Masked Singer

75%

Self - Griffin

2019

POSE

83%

Matt

2018

What the Fit

75%

Self

2018

The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale

61%

Self - Guest

2018

Downsizing

54%

Anesthesiologist

2017

Sea Oak

64%

Mr. Frendt

2017

Drop the Mic

64%

Self

2017

Vampirina

67%

Boris Hauntley (voice)

2017

What Would Diplo Do?

59%

Diplo

2017

What Would Diplo Do?

59%

Creator

2017

What Would Diplo Do?

59%

Executive Producer

2017

What Would Diplo Do?

59%

Writer

2017

Room 104

57%

Scott

2017