“Despite all my efforts I won’t be able to be there. I won’t be able to get up on that stage and thank each and every person in the theater for joining me in my fight against cancer, when I needed it most.” With these words, James Van Der Beek—who is battling colorectal cancer—announced that he would not be able to attend the long-awaited reunion of the cast of Dawson’s Creek, the series that made its stars famous. Instead, the actor made a surprise appearance at the reunion, which took place at New York’s Richard Rodgers Theatre, via an emotional video.
But Van Der Beek’s absence was not the only headline that came out of the reunion. During the event, Dawson costars Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes appeared very friendly. Both are currently immersed in the filming of Happy Hours, a movie written and directed by Holmes herself, and photographs taken during the filming sessions have already sparked rumors of a possible romance between the actors.
Van der Beek’s wife, film producer Kimberly Van Der Beek, attended the reunion, along with the couple’s six children. The family took the stage to sing the series’s well-known theme song of. She shared an image on her social media posing with Williams, Holmes and Busy Philipps. “Meeting these women has been a bittersweet experience. They are magical, kind, talented, sincere and …. sacred. I missed my partner so much but the support and love has healed me deeply,” wrote the producer.
The capstone to the evening was a video sent by Steven Spielberg, whom the character of Dawson idolizes. “Dawson, you did it. Maybe someday I can have a closet like Dawson’s,” the director said.
Originally appeared in Vanity Fair Spain.
