Beloved for his role as Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, he was also a devoted husband and father of six, whose honesty helped countless people take their health seriously.

Despite being in excellent shape and having no family history of the disease, Van Der Beek noticed subtle changes in his bowel habits that led him to seek medical advice.

He told People Magazine in 2024, “I thought, I probably need to change my diet a little bit. Maybe I need to stop coffee. Maybe I need to not put cream in the coffee. And then I finally took that out of the diet, and it didn’t improve, and I thought, all right, I better go get this checked out.”

He booked a colonoscopy and learned, as he was coming out of anaesthetic, that he had Stage 3 colorectal cancer. He later spoke about the shock of diagnosis and the importance of listening to your body.

He reminded us that being young and fit doesn’t make you immune. “I was in amazing cardiovascular shape,” he said – “I tried to eat healthy—or as far as I knew it at the time”.

Since going public with his diagnosis in 2024, Van Der Beek became a passionate advocate for cancer awareness. He joined a group of male celebrities for ‘The Real Full Monty’, a televised strip-tease special, inspired by the ‘Full Monty’ movie, aimed at raising awareness for prostate, testicular, and colorectal cancer. The show encouraged men to get screened and helped break down stigma around these cancers. “If we can do the strip tease in front of a live audience, hopefully, that will inspire people to go get checked,” Van Der Beek said.

Our thoughts are with James’ friends and family.

If you’ve noticed changes in your bowel habits, trust your gut – see your GP and ask to rule out bowel cancer.