Joshua Jackson felt deeply affected by James Van Der Beek’s cancer battle and death.
“Like many families, my family has been touched by cancer, and unfortunately a colleague of mine, James, passed away last month, exactly a month ago today,” Jackson, 47, said during the Thursday, March 12, episode of Kelly Clarkson’s eponymous talk show. “So this campaign is personal to me, and James’ diagnosis was a real wake-up call for me.”
Jackson teamed up with AstraZeneca to participate in the Get Body Checked campaign. The program helps people find providers and cancer screenings in their area.
“I am [at] the age now where I have to start really thinking about this and being proactive about taking care of my own health,” Jackson explained of his inspiration to join the program.
In addition to finding medical assistance, Jackson explained the campaign has resources and test questions to help people figure out what they should get checked for.
“This is a hard conversation to get into. Nobody wants to talk about cancer,” he shared. “It’s a bummer, it’s scary. But it gives you a couple questions to start out with your doctor and see what the right moves are for you.”
Jackson and Van Der Beek played best friends on Dawson’s Creek for six seasons. The series also starred Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams. After Van Der Beek announced his cancer diagnosis in 2024, the Dawson’s Creek cast reunited to help Van Der Beek raise money for cancer.
Last month, Van Der Beek died at 48 after battling stage III colorectal cancer. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their six children.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” Kimberly wrote via Instagram at the time. “He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Jackson publicly spoke out about Van Der Beek’s death earlier this week
“I think it hits in a variety of different ways, and so for me, as a father now, I think the enormity of that tragedy for his family hits me in a very different way than just as a colleague, so I think processing is ongoing,” the actor said during a Tuesday, March 10 appearance on the Today show. “He and I shared this amazing time where that [Dawson’s Creek] clip comes from at a very young point in our life and it was formational for us, and I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness.”
Jackson continued, “But I will also say that I know that I’m really just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life. … He became what we used to just call a good man, a man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith, that allowed him to face the impossible with grace — an unbelievable partner and husband, just a real man who showed up for his family, and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father. And so while on the one hand, that’s beautiful, and I think he did lead a very good life and he was a good man, the tragedy of that for his family is enormous.”
