James Van Der Beek appeared virtually at a Dawson’s Creek reunion charity event on Monday with a message for fans.
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Though the 48-year-old actor couldn’t attend the charity event due to a stomach illness, he filmed a video expressing his regret for missing out.
“I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together,” Van Der Beek admitted in the touching video message. “I can’t believe I’m not there; I can’t believe I don’t get to see my cast mates, my beautiful cast, in person.”
il commovente videomessaggio di james van der beek alla reunion di ieri 💔 pic.twitter.com/50Fuq95v2A
— claudia ⛈ (@arrogantdikhead) September 23, 2025
“And just I want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theater for being here tonight,” he added. “From the cast to the crew to everybody who’s doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you – you are the best fans in the world.”
Van Der Beek expressed that it was “absolutely humbling” to see the effort that went into the event, which benefited F Cancer. He then introduced his replacement, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and jokingly referred to the 45-year-old Hamilton star as a “new up-and-comer.”
An Ill James Van Der Beek Said He Was ‘Gutted’ to Miss the Event
In an Instagram post shared the day before the event, the actor said he was “gutted” to be missing out due to “two stomach viruses.” He also assured fans he would have an “understudy,” later confirmed to be Miranda.
Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly, attended the event with their children. During the event, Kimberly and the children joined the cast onstage to sing Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait,” the show’s theme song.
The “Dawson’s Creek” cast and James Van Der Beek’s children sing “I Don’t Wanna Wait.” pic.twitter.com/Edkgsa0UeF
— Variety (@Variety) September 23, 2025
The cast of the iconic WB teen drama — including Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, and Busy Philipps — reunited at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. They gathered for a live reading of the show’s pilot episode as part of the event.
Dawson’s alum Jason Moore directed the event. Carl Ogawa, Moore, Williams, Thomas Kail, Maggie Brohn, Kevin Williamson, and Greg Berlanti produced it. The original show ran for six seasons (1998-2003), covering a wide range of coming-of-age themes.