After canceling his participation in the “Dawson’s Creek” reunion, James Van Der Beek made a surprise appearance at the event, moving both the audience and his fellow cast members.
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The 48-year-old actor, who was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in August 2023, was unable to attend the charity event in person but sent a message through a pre-recorded video projected onto a screen on stage.
In an emotional Instagram post shared by Van Der Beek a day before the reunion, the actor revealed he was devastated not to be able to attend due to his health: “I’ve been looking forward to this night for months and months, ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she would organize it,” he wrote.
“I can’t believe I won’t be there. I can’t believe I won’t be able to see my castmates, my beautiful cast, in person,” he said.
The cast of the teen series, which aired from 1998 to 2003, included, in addition to Williams and Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, and Busy Philipps.
The actors gathered at the Richard Rodgers Theatre for a live reading of the show’s pilot episode, a reunion that had not taken place in 22 years.
At the end of the event, Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly, and the couple’s six children joined the cast to sing “I Don’t Want To Wait” by Paula Cole, the show’s theme song, in yet another moving moment for everyone present.
Images: social media reproduction, Warner Bros. promotional. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
