‘Today’: James Van Der Beek Addresses Weight Loss at ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Reunion

Nearly three months after missing the Dawson’s Creek reunion, James Van Der Beek sat down with Today‘s Craig Melvin to give an update on his cancer battle, family life, and more.

“I feel a little bit better every month. It’s required more of me, more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had,” the actor shared in a prerecorded package on the Friday, December 19, episode of Today. “I knew I was strong. I didn’t know I was this strong.”

Van Der Beek announced in November 2024 that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer. While the diagnosis shocked him, it also gave him a new perspective on life. “I thought, ‘This is gonna be the best thing to ever happen to me,’” he revealed. “I had this little voice in my head that said, ‘You’re gonna make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn’t have this extreme of a diagnosis. And it’s gonna add healthy, happy years to your life.”

Those changes include slowing down, re-examining what he eats and what he puts into his body, working on self-love, and finding a new perspective on his faith. Van Der Beek also noted that the support he’s received from fans and fellow stars has been “overwhelming.”

“I never expected that. I never just stopped to appreciate, kind of, what I’d done,” he told Melvin. “And I will say, every time someone says, ‘I’m praying for you, and I’m wishing you the best,’ I appreciate it.”

NBC

Van Der Beek notably missed the Dawson’s Creek cast’s New York City reunion in September. He appeared via a video message, sparking concern over his apparent weight loss. On Today, Van Der Beek credited the weight loss to a stomach bug he was battling that caused him to skip out on the event, not his cancer.

“Although, with cancer, everything’s like, ‘Why don’t we supersize that stomach virus?’” he quipped. The actor also assured viewers, “I feel much, much better than I did a couple months ago.”

He still felt the love from fans through the love his wife, Kimberly, and their kids received at the event. “They got a standing ovation just for taking their seats. And all that love that would have otherwise been directed at me was directed to my family, and that was just one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever gotten to witness,” Van Der Beek gushed. “And so, I’m just so grateful to the fans for doing that.”

Related

James Van Der Beek Fans React After Wife Shares Big Health Update

Van Der Beek used the interview to give his wife a sweet shout-out, claiming he “would not be alive” without her help amid his cancer diagnosis.

When asked by Melvin how his cancer battle will change his life after he beats it, Van Der Beek said it will change “everything.”

He explained, “I think it will change the way I live for the rest of my life. I think before cancer, I took all these little, beautiful moments as, kind of, part of a collective. I was just aware of everything. And now, I’m able much more to just settle into that exact moment. So presence, I think, is really the gift that cancer’s given me.”

Today, Weekdays, 7 a.m./6c, NBC