James Van Der Beek joined The Real Full Monty striptease special to raise cancer awareness to a national audience.
The Dawson’s Creek alum, 47, who was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer in August 2023, joined Anthony Anderson in the Fox production that aired Monday.
‘The universe is hilarious. “I knew immediately in my heart that I was doing this,” the Hollywood veteran said. USA today about their participation in the program.
He explained: ‘My brain had to catch up with what I was doing. For me there hasn’t been anything like a male stripping past, so this was really novel. The added layer was that this was going to be the first time I would talk about my diagnosis.”
In early November, James announced his diagnosis while promoting signed football jerseys from his 1999 drama Varsity Blues, which he used to raise funds for cancer treatment.
“It’s been surprising and overwhelming,” he told the publication.
James Van Der Beek Joined The Real Full Monty Strip Special to Raise Cancer Awareness to a National Audience
‘The universe is hilarious. I knew immediately in my heart that I was doing this,” the Hollywood veteran said of his participation in the show.
“I was very surprised to find myself in a place where they support me with so many good wishes,” the grateful actor gushed.
Taye Diggs, Tyler Posey, Chris Jones and Bruno Tonioli were also part of the initiative to spread information about men’s health.
Van Der Beek shared with the outlet: ‘Bruno and I go back a long time. I’ve always been an independent person, so having the support of these guys was huge.
“I hope others are inspired to see me stop constantly trying to be Superman and relying on my support system.”
Sharing a sneak peek of the special via Instagram on Sunday, she wrote in a caption to her 1.6 million followers: “One of the blessed moments of clarity I’ve had on this #cancer journey was saying yes to #TheRealFullMonty.”
He added: “I was coming off a medical trip in the jungles of Colombia (more on that later) and at the Miami airport when I heard that @anthonyanderson was getting a group of men together to do this special to raise awareness about cancer early. detection.
‘The Attention Trick: Learning and Performing the Full Monty Striptease in a Theater in Front of a Live Audience.’
The original comedy film, released in 1997, was directed by Peter Cattaneo.
Sharing a sneak peek of the special via Instagram on Sunday, she wrote in a caption to her 1.6 million followers: “One of the blessed moments of clarity I’ve had on this #cancer journey was saying yes to #TheRealFullMonty.”
The Dawson’s Creek alum, 47, who was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer in August 2023, joined Anthony Anderson in the Fox production that aired Monday.
While promoting the production of Full Monty, Van Der Beek recalled the time he was caught with an X-rated Dawson’s Creek video at an airport.
“I received the porn movie ‘Dawson’s Crack’ as a wrapped gift for Rules of Attraction,” he shared with USA Today. ‘It was on VHS. This was so long ago.
On his way to North Carolina to work on the beloved television series, co-starring Katie Holmes, he was stopped by the TSA.
‘I wanted to show everyone that we had done it. “So I put it in my suitcase and went through security,” he recalled.
‘It was right after 9/11 and security opened all the suitcases, including mine. And it was right on top. “Not only was it, you know, a porn movie, but a porn movie based on a show that I appeared on,” Van Der Beek said.
He shared: ‘The TSA guard looked at me, got embarrassed and just closed the suitcase. And I was on my merry way.
The actor is raising six children with his wife Kimberly, whom he married 14 years ago.
James dedicated a heartfelt Instagram post to his ‘super human’ wife on Thanksgiving, praising her for her ‘unconditional love.’
The actor is raising six children (Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, eight, Gwen, six, and Jeremiah, three) with his wife Kimberly, whom he married 14 years ago.
James dedicated a heartfelt Instagram post to his ‘super human’ wife on Thanksgiving, praising her for her ‘unconditional love.’
He also thanked his offspring for keeping him “present, active and inspired.”
‘It has been a difficult year… and I am grateful for all of it. For the giant that life redirects that cancer has put in my path,’ he shared on social media.
The star added: “For the gift of knowing what it feels like when friends reach out to such a deep level, and in a way I never could have asked for if I hadn’t been going through it.”