James Van Der Beek's wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, has shared a poignant recollection of their daughters spending time with the actor on the set of his final onscreen role before his death. The series, "Elle," a prequel to "Legally Blonde," marks Van Der Beek's last acting credit. He died in February at the age of 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
Kimberly Van Der Beek stated that their daughters, Annabel, 12, and Emilia, 10, each had the opportunity to visit their father while he was filming "Elle." "Emilia and Annabel had the pleasure of separately being on set with him," she wrote in a clip shared on Instagram. "They treated the kiddos beautifully and he was so proud of this role... especially because his daughters were so looking forward to watching it!" The couple also share Olivia, 15, Joshua, 14, Gwendolyn, eight, and Jeremiah, four.
Co-showrunner Caroline Dries echoed the sentiment, noting that Van Der Beek maintained a positive demeanor throughout production despite his private health struggles. Dries recalled Van Der Beek saying that acting provided him with a sense of escape from his pain. "James told me that acting allowed him to be someone [else] and forget the pain he was in," Dries said. "But even off camera, James appeared to be buoyant and happy."
Dries also highlighted how Van Der Beek seamlessly integrated his family life with his work. "He brought his daughters to set, he sat with us on plastic folding chairs in video village, he made us laugh, he told us stories and he showed us nothing but kindness," she said. "This would be James’ last role. Our cast gave him the space to feel that joy." In a separate interview with People, Dries described it as "such a privilege" to offer Van Der Beek a welcome distraction after his cancer diagnosis.
Co-showrunner Laura Kittrell praised Van Der Beek's on-set attitude, noting he was the first choice for the role due to his nostalgic appeal. "When we were conceiving of that character, we always thought it would be so fun to have somebody who did feel like more of a ’90s throwback," Kittrell said. "He was just so fun and game and had such a good energy and positive outlook on set."
Kittrell also shared fond memories of watching Van Der Beek interact with his daughters on set. "At a point in the season where you start to get tired, the hours are long, having [his daughters] around just being so positive and so invested and curious about everything was so fun," she said. She added that the girls were "Legally Blonde fans and also the blondest girls I’ve ever seen."
Dries expressed surprise that the girls had never been on a television set before or seen "Dawson's Creek." "They had never been on set before," she said. "They had never seen Dawson’s Creek, so they didn’t have … The fan girl that I was to James, they didn’t understand that."
"Elle," starring Lexiৃঙ্খলMinetree as a teenage Elle Woods, chronicles the future lawyer's high school years in 1995 and is set to premiere on Prime Video on July 1. Kimberly Van Der Beek recently honored her late husband on their first Father's Day without him, sharing an emotional tribute on Instagram.