June Diane Raphael is reflecting on her time working with the late James Van Der Beek in upcoming series Elle.
“It was such an honor to work with James,” she told TV Insider ahead of the show’s premiere on July 1. “He’s so wonderful in the show, and I’m so excited for his fans to see this.”
Van Der Beek, who died of cancer in February at age 48, played a mayoral hopeful on the show in what would be his last role.
Raphael, who plays mom to a young Elle Woods, played by Lexi Minetree, said working with the Dawson’s Creek icon, and father of six, was “a dream.”
“I’m really walking away with these memories of him talking about his family all the time,” she recalled. “Anytime there was a downbeat on the set, he would share stories about his kids and how amazing they are and what they were going through, and I could just tell the kind of dad he was and also the kind of husband he was. He would just share the most beautiful things about his wife, and you could tell they were so deeply in love still.”
“So I will hold those memories so close to my heart,” she added.
Related: James Van Der Beek ‘Appeared Buoyant and Happy’ While Battling Cancer on Set of ‘Elle’
The Grace and Frankie star also shared how he brought his daughters to set, a memory his wife Kimberly also talked about in a recent social media post.
“I know that that’s such a big deal as a parent to bring your kids to your work environment, and you want to make sure it’s the right one,” Raphael said. “So, it was really special that he felt that this set was so joyful and such a cool world for the girls to see. So, I’m really honored that I got to share that time with him.”
Leading up to the show’s release on Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video, stars as well as Elle’s show-runner Caroline Dries also spoke about what it was like to work with Van Der Beek amid his cancer battle.
“James told me that acting allowed him to be someone and forget the pain he was in, but even off camera, James appeared to be buoyant and happy,” Dries said during the show’s New York City premiere. “He made us laugh. He told us stories, and he showed us nothing but kindness and gratitude toward the crew.”
This story was originally published by Parade on Jun 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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