American actor James Van der Beek, star of the series “Dawson” in the 1990s, has been suffering from colorectal cancer for several weeks, he announced this Sunday, November 3 to the American magazine People. “I have colorectal cancer. I dealt with this news in a personal way at first, and I am now in a treatment protocol, with the incredible support of my family,” emphasized the 47-year-old man.
He did not give further details on the progress of the disease or the treatment he is following, but said there was “reason to be optimistic” that he felt “good”. The former interpreter of Dawson’s character in the eponymous series has continued to film since his diagnosis, alternating between presence on the sets and medical care. The actor is also spending more time with family. Married to Kimberly since 2010, they had 6 children together: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah, last child born in 2021.
An event to raise public awareness in December
According to People magazine, James Van der Beek is also scheduled to take the stage in December with other celebrities in a show inspired by the movie “The Full Monty,” in which he will strip naked to raise awareness about screening and research on prostate, testicular and colorectal cancers.
Very popular in France thanks to the series “Dawson” broadcast on TF 1 between 1999 and 2003, he played in numerous successful series and films in the 2000s. He often played a guest character during an episode , notably in “How I met your mother”, “Medium”, “The Scott Brothers”, “Ugly Betty” and even “Criminal Minds”.
He also played a fictionalized version of himself in the cult series “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23”, and participated in the 28th season of the American version of “Dancing with the Stars”, in 2019, where he finished in 5th place alongside dancer Emma Slater.
