Tragedy sadly struck earlier this year when James Van Der Beek passed away following a battle with colorectal cancer. Van Der Beek notably has a few posthumous projects, and that includes his final film, the 2026 movie schedule entry The Gates. Directed by John Burr, the thriller sees Van Der Beek play a man who antagonizes had him up against three friends after they witness him commit a murder in his house. Ahead of the film's release, Burr is getting real about his logic for casting Van Der Beek, and talk about an unexpected answer.
James Van Der Beek was known for leading the cast of Dawson’s Creek, as he played the titular character. Throughout his career, Van Der Beek made a name for himself play relatively good guys. Based on what The Gates' John Burr told Far Out Magazine, he wanted to flip the script on that:
I had never seen him play even a vaguely antagonistic character. So when I sat down with him, I didn’t really know exactly what to expect.
While Van Der Beek’s iconic TV character, Dawson, isn't perfect, he's still an all-around nice guy, and that can sum up a number of the late actor's other roles. There aren't too many villainous roles in Van Der Beek's body of work, with rare examples being the time he played a chilling killer in two episodes of Criminal Minds and a ruthless CEO in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. So, with that in mind, I wouldn't have expected Van Der Beek to take on such a Big Bad role or for someone like Burr to cast him in one since he rarely plays that type.
Article continues belowThe notion of Van Der Beek playing Jacob, a malevolent pastor who weaponizes his faith to get away with murder, is somewhat surreal, given his work. Still, Burr was interested in a creating a villain that was layered like the protagonists. And, based on Burr's recent comments, it sounds like Van Der Beek was the right actor for the role:
I was really blown away. He had come up with an ethos for this guy, for why he believed so strongly that the ends justified the means.
Faith apparently plays a big role in The Gates, and it seems to be a driving force behind the actions of Jacob and other authority figures. I'm truly impressed to hear that the late Van Der Beek was able to portray Jacob not as a one-sided villain but as a man containing multitudes. It seems this role also resonated with Van Der Beek personally due to his own relationship with religion, as Burr explained:
He really was a spiritual person, a Christian, but he also had [a] broader perspective. So to have him really connect with the story, with this character like this, really made me believe that this personal story that I was trying to tell could be something special.
There have indeed been instances in which actors have brought aspects of their personal experiences to roles, and it seems James Van Der Beek used that to great effect in this case. Not only has the late actor been praised by his director, but his The Gates co-star, Mason Gooding, shared kind word as well. Gooding said that working with the Varsity Blues actor was a great learning experience and one that helped him further develop as an artist.
As a whole, the cast also paid tribute to Van Der Beek on social media after his passing with heartwarming BTS photos and touching captions on working with him. It's easy to imagine how grateful they all feel, in hindsight, to have gotten to know and work with the fan-favorite actor.
As heartbreaking as it is that James Van Der Beek is no longer with us, it's comforting that he's receiving his flowers from his collaborators. While Van Der Beek's final movie role being a villainous character surprises me, I'm eager to see what kind of layers he brings to Jacob.
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