Joshua Jackson Breaks Silence On Dawson's Creek Co-Star James Van Der Beek's Death: 'The Processing Is Ongoing'

Joshua Jackson is addressing the heartbreaking death of his Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek for the first time.

Perezcious readers know the 48-year-old actor died in February following a battle with colorectal cancer. Nearly a month has gone by, and Joshua shared that he is still “processing” what happened to James. His death has been difficult for everyone, especially his own family. But for Joshua, being a father himself, the Varsity Blues star’s passing hits differently. He has a 5-year-old daughter, Juno, with ex-wife Jodie Turner-Smith. Meanwhile, James and his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, have six children together: Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, Joshua, and Jeremiah. The Fringe alum explained on The Today Show on Tuesday:

“I think it hits in a variety of different ways. For me, as a father now, the enormity of that tragedy hits me in a very different way than just as a colleague, so I think the processing is ongoing.”

Over the past few weeks, Joshua said he has been thinking about James’ life and legacy “quite a bit,” especially their days on Dawson’s Creek together:

“It was formative for us. And I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness. But I will also say is [that] I know that I’m just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life.”

Although fans will forever love James’ portrayal of Dawson Leery, Joshua, who played Pacey Witter, expressed that one of his greatest accomplishments in life was becoming a “good man”:

“He became what we used to just call a ‘good man,’ a man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that allowed him to face the impossible with grace, an unbelievable partner and husband, right? Just a real man who showed up for his family and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father. And so while on the one hand that’s beautiful and I think he did lead a very good life and he was a good man, it is also, the tragedy of that loss for his family is enormous.”

His loss really is such a tragedy. He’ll be missed dearly.

And to honor James, Joshua announced he partnered with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to urge people to get cancer screenings:

“I didn’t realize the number is 65% of people in our age cohort haven’t gone out and gotten tested. Haven’t started the conversation. That’s where the idea started. I also liked that they wanted to do something that was a little bit light because this is not a fun conversation. It’s kind of scary.”

He went on to encourage men to visit the getbodychecked.com website, adding:

“I think the testing and screening has gotten better, but it’s also true that the earlier you find something, the better your possible outcomes are. And I don’t know about the guys that you know, but the guys that I know, guys don’t like to talk about this. We don’t like to go to the doctor. We don’t like to deal with this stuff. There are a lot of ways in your life, that stiff upper lip thing can be helpful, but in this, it’s not helpful at all.”

A beautiful way to pay tribute to James. Watch Joshua’s interview (below):