James Van Der Beek shares why ‘Dawson’s Creek’ never did musical episode

James Van Der Beek showed off his impressive pipes and spoke passionately about his lifelong love of singing on The Masked Singer season 13. Yet, despite a cast of equally musically inclined stars, fans never got a Dawson’s Creek musical episode.

Entertainment Weekly caught up with “The Beek from the Creek” after his elimination as Griffin to learn why he was “too concerned” to go all out vocally on the beloved teen show. Van Der Beek also tells us how that emotional moment with his wife, Kimberly, and their six children surprising him on the Masked Singer stage really happened, and shares the “benefit” of opening up about his colorectal cancer diagnosis. Read on below.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It was so moving when your family came out to join you on stage after your unmasking. There was not a dry eye in the house, especially Ken Jeong’s. What was that moment like for you?

JAMES VAN DER BEEK: That was amazing. I really did [the show] for my kids. I was nervous to do it. I hadn’t sung in public in a very long time. They had kind of been with me through the whole process. They heard me warming up in the house. They watched me practice. Then, I heard the other two singers in dress [rehearsal] two days before [filming] and I immediately called my wife. I said, “I don’t think I’m making it out of this round, babe. These two singers are phenomenal. So if there’s any way you can get the kids out here, I think tomorrow is going to be my last day.” And she did. Somehow she booked tickets, got the kids on a flight, got them out there. She’s Superwoman. And then when I was unmasked, I kept looking for them in the audience. I wanted to wave to them, and I couldn’t see them. So when Nick [Cannon] said, “Why don’t you tell them yourself?” and they all ran out, I was just thrilled. Just so good to see them and have them up there and be able to put my big lion paws around them.

Who knew you were such a great singer this whole time? On Dawson’s Creek, Joey had a big song moment. Did you ever try to pitch yourself singing on the show or try to convince them to do a musical episode like Buffy did in that same era?

I grew up watching Head of the Class, that sitcom with Brian Robbins. So I remember they would always do a musical, and as a kid just watching at home on reruns, I was like, oh, that’s really cool. I would’ve loved a musical episode of [Dawson’s Creek], but we never did one. I think I recall singing drunk in one episode, but that’s about it.

Did you ever try to put a bug in Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson’s ear about doing it?

Oh, I think I would’ve been too nervous. I think I would’ve been too concerned, wondering if I could really sing or not. It was a big thing for me to do [The Masked Singer]. It was more kind of desire of wanting to do it and not really knowing if I could pull it off. I had this amazing vocal coach, Amy. I had all this technique from all these vocal lessons I’d taken and I’ve had some amazing teachers, but she really kind of helped me throw away some of the technique and just start to sing like myself, which was a huge gift. Then to hear it on television and be actually happy with the sound, I was like, okay, I think this is one of those dreams that maybe I can pursue a little bit.

Paula Cole, who of course sang the iconic Dawson’s Creek theme song, was Ship last season. Have you talked to her about The Masked Singer?

No. I didn’t even know she was on it. Oh, wow. She’s great. I love Paula.

Is there another Dawson’s alum you would recommend doing the show next?

I mean, Katie [Holmes] can definitely sing. Michelle [Williams] can definitely sing. Busy [Philipps] can sing. I’m sure Josh [Jackson] can sing. I’m sure he’d probably say he couldn’t, but he probably could. That’s my guess.

You’ve been open about your cancer journey and calling this the hardest year of your life. You’ve been a public figure since you were young, but obviously this is a very personal matter. Did you struggle with deciding how open you wanted to be about your health?  

It is the most personal thing in the world, but one thing that I have discovered in the last couple of years is the more I’ve just shared the emotional truth of whatever I’m going through, I’ve really found people reach out and say thank you. They’ve connected somehow to the journey; they’ve felt a little bit less alone. And so I’ve really felt like there’s benefit to this and especially benefit to bringing attention to it because it’s one of those things, colorectal cancer, you can get screened for it and never have to worry about it ever. It’s very preventable in that sense. I try to keep as many of the details to myself, especially when I’m mid-process. I’m in a healing portal right now. It’s a balance of how much do you share and how much do you keep to yourself. You don’t want the expectation of having to share everything. I’m not a reality star. But I have found most of the time, 99.9% of people are just really respectful of what I want to share and what I don’t. And that’s been refreshing.

Have you heard from former colleagues since you came out about it publicly?

I’ve had so many people reach out, and that’s been really great. And I’ve reconnected with a lot of people I haven’t spoken to in years. So a lot of beautiful things have come out of it.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.