"I always show up to work and give it everything, and some things turn out better than others - and some things you can expect that it will come out better than others."
James David Van Der Beek, Jr. (born March 8, 1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut) is an American television, film, and stage actor, mainly known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek and for portraying a fictionalized version of himself on the ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 in Apartment 23. He is also famous for his website, which includes Van Der Beek himself acting out famous internet memes.
He was married to actress Heather McComb from 2003 to 2009. Since 2010, he has been married to business consultant Kimberly Brook, with whom he has six children.
Notable for:
- Clarissa Explains It All (1993) as Paulie
- As the World Turns (1995) as Stephen Anderson
- Angus (1995) as Rick Sandford
- Aliens in the Family (1996) as Ethan
- Dawson's Creek (1998-2003) as Dawson Leery note
- Scary Movie (2000)
- Varsity Blues (1999) as Jonathan "Mox" Moxon
- Texas Rangers (2001) as Lincoln Rogers Dunnison
- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) as himself
- Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019)
- The Rules of Attraction (2002) as Sean Bateman
- Castle in the Sky (2003) as Pazu (voice; English dub)
- Robot Chicken (2006) as various characters (voice)
- Criminal Minds (2007) as Tobias Hankel
- Ugly Betty (2007) as Luke Carnes
- How I Met Your Mother (2008, 2013) as Simon Tremblay
- One Tree Hill (2008-2009) as Adam Reese
- Medium (2009) as Dylan Hoyt
- The Forgotten (2009) as Judd Shaw
- Mercy (2010) as Dr. Joe Briggs
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2011) as Rex Tamlyn
- Franklin & Bash (2011) as Nathan
- Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012-2013) as himself
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2012) as Sean Albert
- Labor Day (2013) as Officer Treadwell
- Power/Rangers (Bootleg Universe) (2015) as Rocky the Red Ranger
- CSI: Cyber (2015-2016) as Elijah Mundo
- Room 104 (2017) as Scott
- Vampirina (2017-2021) as Boris Hauntley (voice)
- Downsizing (2017) as Anesthesiologist
- Modern Family (2017) as Bo Johnson
- Pose (2018) as Matt Bromley
- Home Movie: The Princess Bride (2020) as Prince Humperdinck
