James Van Der Beek celebrates daughter turning ‘the same age Dawson was’ post-reunion

James Van Der Beek’s daughter Olivia is the same age as his character on “Dawson’s Creek” in the show’s pilot.

The actor acknowledged the full-circle moment while celebrating his eldest child’s birthday via Instagram Thursday.

“My oldest turned 15 today,” Van Der Beek, who played Dawson Leery on the six-season show, told his followers. “Same age that Dawson was in the pilot.”

The 48-year-old posted footage of Olivia “taking center stage” at Monday’s “Dawson’s Creek” reunion in New York City — which he was “gutted” to miss amid his cancer battle.

“To watch you stand there in that red dress, so confident … amidst all those people I’ve known so long and cherish so deeply… I’m just left in awe,” he captioned the video of Olivia — and 9-year-old sister Emilia — singing the series’ theme song, Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Wanna Wait.”

“I’ve always joked that you came out ‘parent proof,’” Van Der Beek went on to write.

“This last year, as I’ve watched you accelerate into so many big decisions, jump into so many activities, budget your time, do your homework and your hair (which, from my point of view, seem to require roughly the same amount of time & focus 😂)… the less I think the parent-proof thing is a joke,” he continued.

The “Pose” alum, however, acknowledged that Olivia is “not perfect” but recently “handled [a] mess-up” with grace.

Van Der Beek advised the teen to “keep taking big swings.”

He concluded, “Risk imperfection. Keep dreaming big and most importantly, be true to who you are. Because, while only YOU will know exactly who your most authentic self will be, as someone who’s known you your whole life… I can guarantee you’re going to love her.”

In addition to Olivia and Emilia, the “Varsity Blues” star and his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, are the parents of Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 2.

The couple, who have been married since August 2010, live with their little ones in Texas, where they moved from Los Angeles in 2020.

In August 2023, the “Dancing With the Stars” alum was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which he went public with in November of the following year.

James, feeling “cautiously optimistic,” told People that he would let fans know when he was “out of the woods completely for what feels like a responsible amount of time.”

Monday’s “Dawson’s Creek” reunion raised funds for James’ cancer treatment, as well as the F Cancer organization.

James announced one day ahead of the event that he would be forced to miss due to “two stomach viruses” — but he did send a surprise video message to fans.

Lin-Manuel Miranda stepped in to play James’ role in the reading of the first episode, with the Broadway star joining Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, Busy Philipps and more cast members.

Philipps, 46, teared up in an Instagram Story video over James’ “heartbreaking” absence — and said she “sobbed” over Olivia and Emilia’s singing.