How ‘Elle’ paid tribute to James Van Der Beek for his final role

James Van Der Beek’s final role is his posthumous appearance in “Elle,” Prime Video’s “Legally Blonde” prequel series. 

The show pays tribute to the “Dawson’s Creek” actor, who died at 48 in February, following a battle with colorectal cancer. 

His character, Dean Wilson, first appears in the third episode of “Elle.” At the end of that episode, before the credits roll, a title card onscreen says, “In loving memory of James Van Der Beek.”

Now streaming on Prime Video, “Elle” is a “Legally Blonde” prequel series following Reese Witherspoon’s iconic character from the movies during her high school years. Witherspoon produces it but isn’t in it; Elle Woods is played by Lexi Minetree. 

Dean Wilson is a local mayoral candidate who befriends Elle’s mom, Eva (June Diane Raphael). 

“Elle” actor Jacob Moskovitz told The Post, “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.” 

He added, “We’re really honored that he was a part of the show.” 

Raphael told TV Insider that she recalled Van Der Beek, “talking about his family all the time.”

The “Grace and Frankie” actress added, “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.” 

She noted that when he talked about his wife, Kimberly, who he married in 2010, “You could tell they were so deeply in love still.”

The “Varsity Blue” actor had been battling stage 3 cancer since August 2023.

He shared six children with his wife, Kimberly: Olivia, 14; Joshua, 13; Annabel, 12; Emilia, 8; Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 3.

Before his death, Van Der Beek confessed that cancer treatment had put a financial strain on his family. He sold memorabilia from “Dawson’s Creek” and “Varsity Blues” to help fund his medical expenses. 

After his death in February, the actor’s friends created a GoFundMe page for his family. 

To date, it raised over $2 million. Celebrity donors included Zoe Saldaña, Derek Hough, Ricki Lake, and Kaley Cuoco. 

“Elle” is now streaming on Prime Video.