James Van Der Beek issues apology after going public with cancer diagnosis

Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek has apologised the way his friends and family learned about his cancer diagnosis

James Van Der Beek has apologised to those close to him who found out about his cancer diagnosis through the media.

The 47-year-old actor revealed on Sunday that he had been diagnosed with a colorectal form of the disease in an interview with People magazine but shortly afterwards, he took to social media to claim that the announcement had not happened on his "preferred timeline" and there were others he would have rather told in person before the news broke.

He wrote on Instagram: "I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialling in my overall health with greater focus than ever before. I’m in a good place and feeling strong. It’s been quite the initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready.

"Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline… But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a signpost, pointing us toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention.

"Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support," he added.

The actor - who has six children with his wife Kimberly -revealed to the outlet that he had been "privately dealing" with the illness until now and noted that he has had support from his family along the way.

He said: "I have colorectal cancer. I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family. There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good."

Colorectal cancer develops in either the rectum or the colon. James didn't disclose what stage his cancer is or his course of treatment.

James shot to fame as the titular heartthrob Dawson Leery on The WB's hit teen drama 'Dawson's Creek' between 1998 and 2003.

Matthew Lewis thinks he managed to "avoid the pitfalls" of child stardom.

The 35-year-old actor rose to fame when he was cast in the 'Harry Potter' film series alongside Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint and explained that because he entered showbiz amongst a cohort of other young actors, they were able to navigate sudden fame together.

Speaking at Rhode Island Comic-Con on Sunday (03.11.24), he explained: "We're very good at hiding all of those stories. Although, that said, I was very excited about the prospect. I have quite a short attention span, so that's probably why I've never chosen a real career.

"[After] 10 years in Harry Potter, I was ready to do something else and also was not keen to do anything that was going to lead to multiple series.

"One of the questions that was asked earlier about the pitfalls of being a child actor that we seem to have avoided, I would posit that a large degree of that was because we were all there together."

"Frequently, you hear many stories of how they were the sole actor in that movie and having to carry that movie on their own and all of the pressures and anxieties that come with that. Whereas, we were all kind together."

The 'Baby Done' star is still in touch with his peers from the film series - which was based on the books by J.K. Rowling and was filmed over the course of a decade from 2000 until 2010 - and claimed that his relationships from the are what he has "carried with" him to this day.

He said: "It's one of the things that I've carried with me is those friendships. I don't go back and read the books. One of the only things that I still kind of hold onto is those relationships that we forged throughout those films."