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Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek left devoted fans devastated when his wife announced his death, age 48, after a two-year battle with colorectal cancer.
In an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday, Kimberley Van Der Beek said ‘he met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.’
Van Der Beek’s stunt double Trenton Rostedt, who worked with him on his last ever film role in The Gates, has now opened up to the Daily Mail about how he showed no signs of succumbing to the disease and did not hint that this could be his last job during their time working together.
Instead, Van Der Beek had overhauled his diet and it seemed like he was in remission while they worked together closely on set.
Van Der Beek and Rostedt filmed the horror movie, which is about three friends who witness a murder in a gated community, in October 2024.
They were filming in October 2024, one month before he went public with his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis, and 14 months after he received his initial diagnosis.
Rostedt told the Daily Mail that the Varsity Blues actor had been battling cancer for ‘a long while’ and ‘seemed like he was getting pretty lean and skinny, but had come into what felt like a bit of a remission.’
‘He didn’t seem sickly,’ Rostedt, 45, revealed, adding that ‘you could just tell that he was really, really lean.’
Filming for the horror movie went well and the stunt double said the dad of six was ‘still friendly and [had a] good disposition.’
Rostedt, who has also appeared in Bones, Revenge and Grimm, believes that Van Der Beek was sticking to a very specific diet to ‘keep things lean and healthy.’
He also believes that at the time Van Der Beek ‘had some treatments before [filming] and was recovering.’
It was also extremely important for the Sidelined actor to spend time with his wife, Kimberly, who he married in 2010, along with their large family.
Over the last 16 years, the beloved Hollywood actor has gushed about fatherhood many times and raved about his six children with the film producer: daughters Olivia, 15, Annabel, 12, Emilia, nine, and Gwendolyn, seven, and sons Joshua, 13, and Jeremiah, four.
Rostedt said ‘Van Der Beek drove his big RV so he could bring his kids with him, so that he didn’t have to be away from them during filming.’
While Rostedt was tight-lipped about the stunt scene so as to not give away the plot to the upcoming thriller, which will be released on March 13, he did tell the Daily Mail they were together all night filming and Van Der Beek needed a double for an action sequence involving a car.
While filming, The Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 actor did not hint that this was his last role. ‘He didn’t say he was done,’ Rostedt reminisced.
Rostedt had only good things to say about the actor, whose family is currently raising money for him on GoFundMe to pay for his medical bills.
Van Der Beek’s co-stars have shared emotional tributes, including his Dawson’s Creek love interest Katie Holmes. Holmes played girl next door Joey Potter on the famed WB teen TV show. Van Der Beek shot to fame playing film buff Dawson Leery from 1998 to 2003.
She shared a handwritten note on Instagram that read: ‘I formed some words with a heavy heart. This is a lot to process. I am so grateful to have shared in a piece of James’ journey. He is beloved.’
His celebrity friends shared condolences, including Jennifer Garner, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Tyler Posey.
