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Despite the immense success of “Dawson’s Creek,” James Van Der Beek received minimal residual earnings from the show.
The actor, who passed away on Wednesday at 48 after battling colorectal cancer, faced significant financial hardships in his final months. His difficulties stemmed from mounting medical expenses and being unable to work.
His wife, Kimberly, along with their six children, are now confronted with an uncertain future. This prompted friends to establish a GoFundMe account shortly after the “Varsity Blues” star’s death.
Reflecting on his time with the iconic series during a 2012 interview, Van Der Beek shared how he ended up with “almost nothing” from the CW drama that ran from 1998 to 2003.
“There was no residual money,” he revealed to Today.com, noting that he was just 20 years old at the time. “It was a bad contract,” he admitted, adding, “I saw almost nothing from that.”
He also explained that he signed on to star in “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23” in 2012, “when the [“Dawson’s Creek”] money ran out.”
“It is very easy if you have all the money in the world to just sit back and coast,” he told the outlet.
“But if you realized that you are going to have to start providing for yourself and for your family, it really forces you to buckle down.”
In response to an X post by Variety on Van Der Beek’s posthumous fundraiser, actress Rachel True — who appeared in a pair of “Dawson’s Creek” episodes — explained how the actor might have been cheated out of better compensation for his iconic role in the series.
“TV shows not on ABC, CBS, or NBC are considered already ‘syndicated’ & all that means they don’t have to pay proper residuals to actors,” she wrote on Wednesday.
“It F’s actors like James out of their deserved financial security & proper legacy ~I did 2 eps of Dawson’s Creek He was a delight.”
Fans in the comments thread called Van Der Beek’s dearth of residuals “terrible” and “horrible,” with one person remarking, “Streaming platforms should still have to pay proper residuals to actors !!!!”
Prior to his death in November, Van Der Beek auctioned off personal items of memorabilia from “Dawson’s Creek” to help fund his own cancer treatments.
Despite the financial setbacks in the wake of his death, the beloved actor leaves behind a long list of celebrities and fans eager to help out — the GoFundMe has already raised nearly $2 million in donations in support of his family.
A-listers including Zoe Saldaña, “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu, and “Dancing With the Stars” personality Derek Hough have contributed thousands to the effort to keep Van Der Beek’s family financially afloat.