Emily Longoretta

He took this character that was not, you know, a jock, was not the cool kid in high school and made him lovable and that was not afraid to be emotional.

I'm Dawson.

Dawson, Dawson, yeah, I know.

We met before.

I'm Jen.

James Van Der Beek is best known for playing Dawson Leary and the show was built around him and the creator Kevin Williamson has said many times, you know, he wanted to tell the story of his life and Dawson was based on him and

He had to find the right person to do that, and James immediately stepped into that role and broke through and became such a mainstay in so many TVs and so many living rooms around the world.

He took this character that was not a jock, was not the cool kid in high school, and made him lovable and this filmmaker and...

Someone that people fell in love with and that was not afraid to be emotional, something that a lot of men on TV, especially young men on TV, it's frowned upon.

And James Van Der Beek was able to do that with such eloquence and his emotion and connection and authenticity really came through the screen as Dawson and really catapulted his career forward.

you know, instead of just being a 90s heartthrob, he ended up going on to do many, many TV shows and films.

And he became, you know, one of the mainstays of the entertainment world and something that is why this passing is so devastating for so many.