James Van Der Beek’s final role was a posthumous appearance on Prime Video’s Legally Blonde prequel series Elle.
The show pays tribute to the “Dawson’s Creek” actor, who passed away in February at the age of 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
His character, Dean Wilson, first appears in the third episode of “Elle.” At the end of that episode, before the credits roll, an on-screen title card reads, “In loving memory of James Van Der Beek.”
“Elle,” currently streaming on Prime Video, is a “Legally Blonde” prequel series that follows Reese Witherspoon’s iconic high school character from the movie. Witherspoon is producing but not participating. Lexi Maintree plays Elle Woods.
Dean Wilson is a local mayoral candidate who befriends Elle’s mother Eva (June Diane Raphael).
“Elle” actor Jacob Moskowitz told the Post, “There wasn’t a lot of overlap, but he would sit and eat lunch with us and talk to us. And he was the absolute light of our set, and we’re going to miss him so much.”
He added, “We’re really honored to have him on the show.”
Raphael told TV Insider he remembered Van Der Beek “always talking about his family”.
The Grace and Frankie actress added, “Whenever I was down on set, he would tell me stories about his kids and how amazing they were and what they were going through. And I got to see what kind of father he is and what kind of husband he is.”
She said when talking about his wife, Kimberly, whom he married in 2010, “I could tell they were still very deeply in love.”
The “Varsity Blue” actor had been battling stage 3 cancer since August 2023.
He and his wife Kimberly had six children. Olivia is 14 years old. Joshua, 13 years old. Annabelle, 12 years old. Emilia, 8 years old. Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 3.
Before her death, Van Der Beek admitted that her cancer treatment had placed a financial burden on her family. He sold “Dawson’s Creek” and “Varsity Blues” memorabilia to help pay for his medical expenses.
After his death in February, friends of the actor created a GoFundMe page for his family.
To date, it has raised over $2 million. Celebrity donors include Zoe Saldaña, Derek Hough, Ricki Lake and Kaley Cuoco.
“ELLE” is currently available on Prime Video.
