James Van Der Beek is being remembered fondly in Elle.
Nearly five months after tragically dying of cancer, James’ final role is finally upon us. In Amazon Prime’s new Legally Blonde prequel series Elle, which sees Lexi Minetree taking on the role Reese Witherspoon made famous, the pinktastic character takes on the high school grunge scene in 1995 Seattle.
James plays a character named Dean Wilson, a mayoral candidate and Elle’s school’s superintendent who befriends her mom. Once you start binging, you’ll start seeing him appear in the third episode.
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As we noted, this is the late actor’s FINAL role. And that’s not being overlooked! At the end of the third episode, prior to the credits rolling, a black banner appears on screen with pink writing, which reads:
“In loving memory of James Van Der Beek”
See (below):
Awww.
It’s still difficult to wrap our heads around the fact that he’s gone…
Reflecting with The Post on working with James, writer Jacob Moskovitz remembered the Dawson’s Creek actor fondly:
“We didn’t have a ton of overlap, but he sat and ate lunch with us and talked with us. And he was just an absolute light on our set, and we miss him very much. We’re really honored that he was a part of the show.”
June Diane Raphael, who plays Elle’s mom Eva, told TV Insider James talked “about his family all the time.”
“Anytime there was a downbeat on the set, he would share stories about his kids and how amazing they are and what they were going through, and I could just tell the kind of dad he was and also the kind of husband he was.”
As for his wife Kimberly, June added:
“You could tell they were so deeply in love still.”
Ahead of Prime Video’s ‘Elle’ premiering July 1, June Diane Raphael told E! News what it was like working with James Van Der Beek in what would be his last project before his death. https://t.co/tMUfRfjL43 pic.twitter.com/dMAqHjO4dv
— E! News (@enews) June 30, 2026
Ughhh. It’s all just so tragic.
Back in February, Reese, who produces the show, reflected on the “devastating” loss of James. She told ExtraTV on the The Last Thing He Told Me red carpet:
“I want to extend my most heartfelt condolences to his family. A beautiful family … Kimberly and the beautiful children. And he was such a man of high character and high faith.”
Jennifer Garner, who was also at the premiere, added:
“Pure integrity. Yeah, faith, integrity, family guy… Yeah, we all grew up together.”
So sad. Reese tagged on:
“Yeah, all of us. So, it’s a devastating loss. And also, I want to say that he did one of his last performances in a Hello Sunshine show about Elle Woods. It’s coming out this summer. So, you get to see him and his beautiful performance. And all those young actors were so moved by how generous he was. So, just… it’s devastating.”
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Garner remember James Van Der Beek as “a man of high character and faith.” ???? pic.twitter.com/kYCb5knxZG
— ExtraTV (@extratv) February 13, 2026
How incredibly heart-wrenching.
Our hearts continue to be with the Van Der Beek family. Rest in peace, James.
