“Between every set up, between every small pause in filming, he’d tell me about his kids and all of their different likes and dislikes and where they were in their lives,” she recalled. “I was so blown away by what kind of dad he was, and how in love with his wife he was.”
His children visited the Elle set
At one point during production, Van Der Beek brought his children to set, letting them see him at work in what would become his final role.
Raphael said their visit brought joy to the set.
“It was so much fun to have them there and for them to see him work,” she said.
The actor’s devotion to Kimberly also left an impression — and created a small domestic complication for Raphael’s own household. She joked that after hearing Van Der Beek speak so lovingly about his wife, she called her husband, actor and comedian Paul Scheer, with a note.
“I remember calling my own husband and being like, ‘You do not speak about me like this buddy,’” Raphael said.
“He was just so enamored with Kimberly,” she continued. “That was really my big take away.”
A touching observation, and a mildly inconvenient standard for everyone else.
What to expect from Van Der Beek in Elle
Elle, the upcoming Prime Video prequel series, follows a younger Elle Woods, played by Lexi Minetree. Raphael appears as Elle’s mother, while Van Der Beek plays Dean Wilson, the school superintendent.
The series premieres July 1, and Raphael said she believes longtime fans will be moved to see Van Der Beek’s last on-screen work.
“I know his fans will be so excited to see him,” she said, “and I think he gives a beautiful performance in the show.”
For viewers who grew up watching Van Der Beek on Dawson’s Creek, the role now carries extra weight. It is not just another credit in a franchise prequel. It is a final appearance from an actor whose public life, especially in his later years, increasingly centered on home, family, and presence.
Van Der Beek spoke about feeling grounded
Even as he continued working during difficult periods of his cancer battle, Van Der Beek had made clear that acting did not come before his family life in Texas with Kimberly and their six children.
In a 2022 interview with E! News, he described the practical reality of raising a large family while balancing work.
“With this many beautiful little humans around and an amazing wife, it's kind of about picking the things that are on the plate,” he said, “and then just making human interaction out of it.”
Asked how he was feeling during that chapter of his life, Van Der Beek offered a simple answer.
“I really feel grounded,” he said.
Raphael’s memories of their time on Elle suggest that was more than a nice interview answer. On set, in the middle of work, Van Der Beek was still talking about the people waiting for him at home. For his fans, that may make his final performance feel less like an ending than a glimpse of what mattered most to him.
