'Dawson's Creek' Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson honour James Van Der Beek

As Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson reunite on-screen for the new film Happy Hours, they are taking a moment to pay respect to their late Dawson’s Creek costar, James Van Der Beek.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the Tribeca Film Festival red carpet on Monday, June 8, Holmes and Jackson remembered Van Der Beek, who passed away earlier this year from cancer.

From 1998 to 2003, Holmes and Jackson starred as Joey Potter and Pacey Witter respectively on the hit coming-of-age drama, alongside Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery and Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley. 

Reflecting on their time together, Holmes shared, “The four of us… we experienced something very unique at a very young age and we had a lot of incredible memories together.”

The actress, 47, noted that the group essentially grew up together, going from aspiring actors to starting their own families. “We care deeply for his family, and all of my memories are for his family and for each other,” she said, referring to Van Derk Beek’s widow, Kimberly, and their six children.

“Having the opportunity to meet him again later as a husband and as a father and to see the culmination of who he was as a man — that’s the thing that I will cherish the most,” added Jackson. “He was an amazing father, and an amazing partner. The time we were on the show together was life changing for each one of us in collective and individual ways. But his final form was his perfect form, so that’s what I will always take away,” he shared.

Written and directed by Holmes, Happy Hours was released on June 6.