Kevin Williamson has broken his silence on his complicated early working relationship with James Van Der Beek.
The “Dawson’s Creek” creator, 59, delivered an emotional speech at the Barbara Berlanti Heroes Gala in Santa Monica, California, on Saturday, where he accepted the Hero Award and paid tribute to the actor who died in February at age 48 after battling colorectal cancer. Williamson did not shy away from the friction that marked their first years together on the landmark WB teen drama.
“He started out as a brat,” Williamson told the gala audience, drawing laughter from the crowd.
The showrunner recalled the phone calls he would field from Van Der Beek whenever a new script arrived. “He would get a script and he would call me, and he would be like, ‘Why do I have to say this word? Nobody knows what this word means,'” Williamson shared during his speech. Williamson fired back with his own zinger: “I would say, ‘Well, don’t worry about it, the way you mumble nobody is going to hear it anyway.'”
The ribbing carried a real creative tension. Van Der Beek’s complaints about the show’s elevated vocabulary were not without merit, as the series became known for dialogue that critics and viewers alike noted sounded far more sophisticated than typical teenage speech. The actor himself had spoken openly about the financial disappointments that came with the show’s massive success, telling Today.com back in 2012 that he walked away with almost nothing despite six seasons of starring as Dawson Leery.
“There was no residual money,” Van Der Beek explained in that interview. “It was a bad contract. I saw almost nothing from that.” He noted he was just 20 years old when he signed.
Williamson’s gala speech turned deeply personal as he traced how their relationship evolved over the decades. He based the character of Dawson Leery on himself, and he credited Van Der Beek with giving voice to his own childhood experiences. “He was the soul of the show … he was the ultimate upgrade,” Williamson praised.
The creator continued, “I had the pleasure of knowing James over many years. I saw him go from a young kid to an extraordinary man, a husband, a father and a friend. James had a full character arc.”
Van Der Beek left behind his widow, Kimberly, and their six children: Olivia, 16, Joshua, 14, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 10, Gwendolyn, 8, and Jeremiah, 4. Kimberly marked what would have been their anniversary in August with an Instagram tribute, writing, “16 years ago I was the luckiest woman in the world to marry @vanderjames. The beauty of this marriage continues to unfold everyday with all these incredible children we have.”
She added, “He continues to be present and guide us. I’m eternally grateful.”
The original “Dawson’s Creek” ran from 1998 to 2003 and also launched the careers of Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams. The series made an instant star of Van Der Beek, whose face became synonymous with the introspective, film-obsessed teenager at the show’s center. The role came to define the early phase of his career even as he later sought to expand into comedy and darker dramatic territory.
Williamson’s remarks at the gala offered a rare glimpse into the messy, human reality behind a show that became a generational touchstone, one where creative clashes ultimately gave way to lasting respect and affection.
The Barbara Berlanti Heroes Gala raises funds for cancer charities and will return to Santa Monica next year.