The Dawson’s Creek alum, 37, plays a newly divorced OB/GYN on the sitcom Friends With Better Lives (CBS, Mondays).
Did your new role call for any research?
I’ve tagged along to a few gynecologist appointments in my life. [Van Der Beek has three kids.] I thought it was interesting that this guy works intimately with women but is clueless about dating them.
You starred as Dawson Leery from 1998 to 2003. Was it sad to wrap that series?
I was 26, and I couldn’t wait to be done. I just wanted to be free and play somebody my own age. As it turned out, I had a lot more growing up to do than I realized, figuring out who I was outside of that job.
On Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23, you played a version of yourself.
I told them, “Don’t ever be afraid of offending me.” We [considered] that balance of, what’s the most disastrous thing that can happen to this guy and still have people laugh?
That show joked about a Dawson’s reunion. Any chance?
I hoped it would grind those wheels to a halt. [Dawson’s creator] Kevin Williamson has said very eloquently that it’s not going to happen.
Online Extras:
When you have three kids, they outnumber you. Does that worry you?
You know, we’ll find out…Kids, they just surprise you at every turn, at every milestone. Never underestimate them.
Are you playing a doctor for the first time on Friends With Better Lives?
Second time… I was in the last 10 episodes of Mercy on NBC. I came in for the last 10, and the ratings went up a tick but it wasn’t enough. The show got canceled [and] they used my picture: “James Van Der Beek’s Mercy…” and I was like, “Wait a minute! I wasn’t even in the pilot! How is this my show all of a sudden?”
On Apt. 23, most people were in on the joke, but did anyone think that was actually what you were like?
Not on the street, I don’t think. I feel like everybody got the joke, even online and on Twitter. The only thing that got weird was sometimes in on-camera interviews, people would ask me questions and want me to answer them in character, as the fake me. Which is sometimes fun, but it got a little bizarro.
Are you a hands-on dad?
I’ve been really lucky that I’ve been able to spend time with them, and that was part of the reason to do a sitcom too. I get to put my kids to bed four out of five nights a week, so to get a job like this has really been the best of both worlds.
Does your oldest child have any sense yet of what Daddy does for a living?
I don’t think so. Every once in a while, if I’m on TV, she’ll go “Daddy!” and that’s about it. I think she just thinks everybody’s on TV.
