James David Van Der Beek (March 8, 1977 – February 11, 2026) was an American actor. Known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery on The WB's Dawson's Creek (1998–2003), he also played a fictionalized version of himself on the cult ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012–2013), starred as FBI agent Elijah Mundo on CSI: Cyber (2015–2016), and appeared as Matt Bromley during the first season of the FX drama Pose (2018).
Van Der Beek's film credits included Varsity Blues (1999), Texas Rangers (2001), The Rules of Attraction (2002), Formosa Betrayed (2009), Labor Day (2013), and Bad Hair (2020).