The death of actor James Van Der Beek at 48 has shaken his fans, friends, and co-stars. The “Dancing With the Stars” alum shocked the world when he revealed that he was battling colorectal cancer in 2024. While his “Dawson’s Creek” co-stars rallied around him after his revelation, fans were heartbroken when he was too ill to attend the “Dawson’s Creek” Reunion Show in September.
One of Van Der Beek’s final performances was as dad Leroy Lahey in 2025’s “Sidelined 2: Intercepted.” His son was played by Noah Beck, whose first film role was in “Sidelined: The QB and Me,” where he met the “Varsity High” star for the first time. Beck posted several Instagram stories after learning of his onscreen dad’s death.
‘You Were the Best’: Beck Shares Touching Farewell to Van Der Beek After Actor’s Death
“Man, this one hurts,” Beck wrote. “James u were the best, so kind, so caring, so thoughtful, so talented, great father, and just an absolute inspiration of a human being. I feel so incredibly lucky to have met u and share the screen with u as my father. u were the best mentor I could ask for…”
“My thoughts are [with] u and [your] family…” he added at the bottom of the screen. “Fly high JVB.”
In the first video, the pair sit side by side on bleachers, filming together. While it appears to be a serious moment, something Van Der Beek says cracks him up, and soon Beck is laughing uncontrollably while his “dad” smiles next to him.
In the next story, Beck posted a photo of Dawson (Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes) from “Dawson’s Creek.” Below was another photo from “Sidelined” of Beck’s character and him, with Van Der Beek in the same position in both. He followed that with a photo of him and Van Der Beek and the caption, “Bye for now.” The final slide was a collage of photos featuring Van Der Beek from the film’s premiere, filming, and behind-the-scenes shots.
Noah Beck’s “Acting Masterclass” with James Van Der Beek Before His Passing
Van Der Beek didn’t attend the November “Sidelined 2” premiere, but his castmates were still thinking of him. Beck had recently given an interview about the sequel, and he couldn’t stop raving about him.
“I could sit and talk about how amazing James was to me for an hour if you have it,” Beck told The Hollywood Reporter in November. “With James, he has such a presence to him, and you can’t not be present in a scene with him. I learned so much, and I’ve just felt like I had this front row seat to such an acting masterclass.”
“In our scenes, he’s Drayton’s father, so when he’s yelling or when he’s being stern with me, I’m just sitting there and I caught myself a few times just really being in awe of him,” Beck continued. “And I was like, oh ****, I forgot it’s a wide [shot] so I have to be in this. So there were times when I fell out of it and just wanted to enjoy what I’m seeing, what people literally pay to come see and I’m getting paid to do this with him. It’s pretty surreal.”
“Off camera, he was such a gentleman and just such an amazing guy to have on set,” he added. “He’s such a mentor to me.”
