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"You are incredibly fortunate whatever success falls on you, which is what happened with me." At one point in time, James Van Der Beek was slated to become the next leading man in Hollywood. Despite his lucrative career, there has always been a shadow of 'what if' surrounding the former star of Dawson's Creek. With that being said, Van Der Beek has managed to carve out a successful career in Hollywood with numerous high-profile performances.

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After beginning his acting career in 1993, Van Der Beek has gone on to appear in more than 60 projects as an actor. Along the way, Van Der Beek would win starring roles in cultural cornerstones like Dawson's Creek, Varsity Blues, and The Rules of Attraction. Van Der Beek also was titled one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World according to People Magazine. We wouldn't complain about that resume!

Early Beginnings

James Van Der Beek was born on March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut. Van Der Beek was born to Melinda and James William Van Der Beek. Melinda worked as a gymnastics teacher and dancer while James was a corporate executive and former professional pitcher. Van Der Beek has Dutch ancestry as is obvious from his last name, which translates, roughly, to 'from the creek'.

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Van Der Beek was determined to find a path into Hollywood and his mother would be supportive of the process the entire way. At the age of 15, Melinda would drive Van Der Beek to New York City so that he could try to get an acting agent. Within a year, Van Der Beek was making his Off-Broadway debut at the age of 16. From there, Van Der Beek would appear in a number of stage productions while balancing his studies at the Cheshire Academy back home in Connecticut.

Eventually, Van Der Beek would make his way to Drew University on an academic scholarship. Van Der Beek would perform in an all-male acapella group before dropping out of school in order to pursue his acting career full-time.

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Lifelong Acting Pursuit

While Van Der Beek balanced his studies and acting career during high school and college, Van Der Beek would turn his attention toward acting full-time in the early 90s. Van Der Beek would appear in Clarissa Explains It All (1993) and As the World Turns (1995) before making his motion-picture debut in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996). Following these early starring roles, Van Der Beek was becoming known for his chiseled good looks and seemingly boundless charisma. 

Van Der Beek would begin auditioning for several television pilots before securing the lead role in the WB Network program, Dawson's Creek (1998). Van Der Beek would star in the series as Dawson Leery, a role that would launch the young actor into the national conversation. Van Der Beek would lead the series from 1998 until the show wrapped up in 2003. Along the way, Van Der Beek began to cultivate a minor career as a film actor. Van Der Beek would star in the teen football film, Varsity Blues (1999) before landing a cameo in Scary Movie (2000). Van Der Beek would find himself in the cult classic, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) where he played an exaggerated version of himself. Van Der Beek has since gone on to reprise his 'character' in the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot set to release in 2019.

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Wguke Van Der Beek's film career isn't nearly as decorated as his television career, he has still managed to string together some strong performances. Van Der Beek would portray the brother of Patrick Bateman in the 2002 film, Rules of Attraction. While the film failed to draw large box office numbers, it has since become one of the enduring cult classics of the decade. Van Der Beek would follow that performance with several major television roles including starring roles on Mercy (2010) and Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 (2012). Van Der Beek would continue to rejuvenate his career with starring roles in CSI: Cyber (2015) and Vampirina (2017). Most recently, Van Der Beek has appeared in Downsizing (2017) alongside Matt Damon and Pose (2018) alongside MJ Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, and Indya Moore.

James Van Der Beek has been in the Hollywood spotlight for decades and, as a result, his love life is well-documented. Van Der Beek was previously married to Heather McComb from 2003 until 2009. Van Der Beek would then meet and begin dating Kimberly Brook, a business consultant, in 2010. The two would get married shortly thereafter and the couple now has five children together, including four daughters and a son. Van Der Beek has several films currently in development including Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.