James van der Beek: "Dawson's Creek " paid me "almost nothing"

James Van Der Beek is finally cashing in on “Dawson’s Creek” -- a show the actor says paid “almost nothing” during its five season run. “There was no residual money,” he told TODAY.com. “I was 20. It was a bad contract. I saw almost nothing from that.” Now the newly remarried father of two is playing a fictionalized version of his post-teen heartthrob self on the new ABC comedy “Don't Trust the B— in Apartment 23.” “I auditioned against six other James Van Der Beeks for this role,” he joked when the show was first presented for TV critics last winter. “By default, it was me.” On the series -- premiering Wednesday -- Van Der Beek pokes fun at his WB days by seducing women with Dawson Leery’s trademark flannel shirts and Paula Cole’s tune “I Don’t Wanna Wait” (the “Dawson’s Creek” theme song). Van Der Beek, 36, said he signed on to play the former lover and BFF of New York scam artist Chloe (Krysten Ritter) -- who terrorizes, but then befriends her new roommate June (Dreama Walker) -- “when the (‘Dawson’s Creek’) money ran out.” But don’t feel too sorry for him: According to documents obtained by TMZ during his divorce from actress Heather McComb, the actor was still pulling in a hefty $49,343 a month (with $4,100 going to charity) as of 2010! While Van Der Beek has continued to appear in movies, he admits it wasn’t always easy to poke fun at himself -- or the character that made him once so famous. “You are incredibly fortunate whatever success falls on you, which is what happened with me,” he said. “But as soon as that happens, I think there is a tendency to feel like you have something to lose. Or something to protect. That can often lead to taking yourself a little too seriously. “It is very easy if you have all the money in the world to just sit back and coast. But if you realized that you are going to have to start providing for yourself and for your family, it really forces you to buckle down.” In recent years, he said, “I started saying yes to things that I had been saying no to previously. I really passed on a lot of things out of fear or ‘What are people going to think?’ or ‘Is this what I really want to do?’ You can find a million reasons to say no to something. Then I got to a point where I thought, ‘What am I doing?’ And I started saying yes to anything that sounded fun.” Along the way, Van Der Beek admitted he was too quick to say no to many projects. “There were meetings for things that would have kept me a little more relevant,” he recalled. “But I thought, ‘I don’t really want to do another horror movie, do I?’ And, of course, doing ‘Amityville Horror’ would have been a really good career move at the time!” "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23" premires on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.

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• Residuals have nothing to do with your contract. Maybe he means back end?

• [quote]Residuals have nothing to do with your contract. Maybe he means back end? Trust me: the Beek got A LOT through his back end!

  John%20Wesley%20Shipp

• Speaking of back end...

  JWS

• He is a loser.

  Michelle%20Willams%2C%203%20time%20Oscar%20nominee

• $50,000 a month is his idea of almost nothing

• BUMP

• Poor baby. At least he didn't have to marry a controlling religious fanatic who sucks your soul dry.

  Razzie Award Winner Katie Holmes

• I don't know who the lead chick is in this abortion, but if you have a funny villain, you're supposed to have a fabulous actress that people will love to hate or cheer on in her naughtiness. She is atrocious and the promos alone guarantee I will never watch an episode.

• you get katie holmes version of 'get happy' on youtube when you search for judy garland.

• 50,000 dollars a month and he's saying he got nothing? Wow. That's unreal.

  Poor%20Coal%20Miner

• It costs $50,000 a month to live in a one room apartment in New York. In California, mansions are much higher.

• I'm gay but I got married anyway.

• And all the girls at DL would bray about how he was queer. Ha!

• [quote]And all the girls at DL would bray about how he was queer. Ha! Yes and gay celebrities never marry!!

  Tomkat

• R14 is CORRECT!!!

  H. Jackman

• It's just silly how the 'mos at DLthink 95% of male Hollywood is queer because of some wishful thinking or elderqueer fantasy. And then there's the old chestnut, well Rock Hudson married so they can have a wife but certainly take it up the ass. Then 9 times out of 10, the truth comes out and still some cling on to the fantasy they they really are queer despite marriage, children and no proof whatsoever. Delusional at best, unhinged usually.

• I guess James Van der beek is bringing this up because he spent all the money he made on Dawson's Creek. Too bad the cable reality stars actually make more money than he did on a prime time series. Nene leeks makes $750k per season plus $250k bonus for reunion shows.

  Anonymous

• Actors should only make what the rest of us make. They should not earn more than $100, 000 a year.

• Who in the hell is Nene R17? And btw R16, "queer" is SO 2002.

• Nene is one of the housewives from Real Housewives in Atlanta.

  Anonymous

• That's sad on so many levels R20.

• [quote]Nene is one of the housewives from Real Housewives in Atlanta. Who? From what?

• I'd be happy to chip in a $20 if he'd let me lick him.

• You can lick me!

  Jensen%27s%20Ankles

• Me too, r23,

• JVB is a douche. He's already been married & divorced once and he got his 2nd wife pregnant before he was even divorced from the 1st one.

• Thank you Prudence McPrude!

• R27 = Newt Gingrich

• [quote]he got his 2nd wife pregnant before he was even divorced from the 1st one. Horrors! You mean... he wasn't faithful to his wedding vows?!? *GASPS*

• I've noticed on this board that a lot of posters tend to excuse the sleazy behavior of straight celebs.

• But, Dawson is hot! Who cares what he did? No one is perfect.

• Of course no one has to be perfect. I'm just saying he's a douche. And he is not that good-looking compared to other guys that were on that show like Jensen Ackles, Michael Pitt and Jason Behr.

• [quote]I've noticed on this board that a lot of posters tend to excuse the sleazy behavior of straight celebs. You mean, as opposed to furiously scolding them and shaking our fingers at them? "Why, you sleazy heterosexual celebrities! How dare you have extramarital sex! Shame!!! SHAME!!!"

• R33, gay celebrities get torn apart here all the time. Look at the nastiness directed towards Dustin Lance Black on the DLB thread just because people here don't like his screenplay for 'Milk' and because he had bareback sex with his boyfriend. He didn't cheat on his spouse or father a child with someone and not take responsibility. In contrast, I see excuses made for Tiger Woods, Peter Facinelli and lots of others when they screw around and break up their families.

• R18- so the producers should keep all the money? Doesn't seem fair. When you are performing for millions and the show is making millions, you should get a piece of it.

  actor

• I don't agree, R35. I'm not saying the producers should get millions either, but actors should not be paid more than doctors, teachers, the President of the United States etc.

• I'm sure Van Der Beek got several nice hot loads from his on-screen dad. That's payment enough.

• I bet he was taking home 4,000 a week for 22 weeks out of the year, which works out to 1,700 a week for the year. MOVIE STARS and established actors in TV make big money, and only a few at that. TV actors on their first jobs make much less. The salary may seem high, but after taxes & commission, not so much.

  working%20actor

• [quote]I'm not saying the producers should get millions either, but actors should not be paid more than doctors, teachers, the President of the United States etc. You can leave the President off that list. Most modern ex-presidents parlay their status into enormous wealth.

• STFU fundie frau @ R34. Didn't you get smacked around enough on the Tiger Woods thread? You shouldn't be wasting time here on DL anyway because you have important work to do. That "ooey gooey butter nut better than sex chocolate dump cake" for the office pot luck isn't going to bake itself.

  Now%20off%20you%20go--back%20to%20Ivillage

• If the contracts were that bad, it explains a lot about Katie's marriage.

• R34 is right, DL holds a special hatred for gay celebs.

• That's cause old boy is ugly, no I tell a lie, he FUGLY. He makes Michael Phelps look hot. He got that horse face. Who wants to pay for a horse face. Look Mr Ed, go hang out with Wilbur. Horse face

  Chutney%20Austin

• I think he made a pretty good living on DC. He and I lived in the same condo building in Wilmington and I believe his was over 800k when bought by him in the late nineties. I also know that he owned another one block away that he had trouble selling after buying into my building. I remember that he wanted to cut an access hole to the roof for a rooftop balcony. Apparently he was afraid of drawing crowds if he had his coffee on the regular balcony like everyone else in the building.

  Tony%20Woodard

• Why should unknown actors starting out have a made a lot of money on their first t.v. show? Don't new actors usually start out with a basic salary?

• Please R38. Van Der Beek I am sure started out somewhere in that range. However his payrate was renegotiated during the run on the show, he definitely made more than that for later seasons. I'm sure he didn't make as much money as he felt he deserved, but thats a different argument.

• TV actors always renegotiate their original deal the minute the show becomes a hit. If the show lasts three years and is still a ratings success, they renew their contract and make millions. I'm not crying for him. He's rich.

• If they sign a contract that's for 5 years, doesn't the amount they get paid the first year stay fixed for the full length of time?

• Explain. Wouldn't he get residuals now from Dawsons Geek? I thought all actors get syndication residuals.

• Actors should not get residuals or royalties. I've never understood that. They should get paid once when they film it, and that's it.

• The people who produce the work still make money off of it once it finishes airing. Why should actors not also be compensated for money being made off their work?

• Agree with R34 and R42. Straight men are the only ones not held to any standards at all around here, while gay celebs can't do anything right. Pathetic.

• I think the posts about what actors should be paid is funny as hell. Unless the money is coming from their pocket, i e taxes why is it your business what they are paid?

• Because they were paid for the original work, R51 - it then belongs to the studios to do whatever they wish with it

• Why shouldn't people be entitled to an opinion on it, R53? And if I'm paying to see their movies, I can choose to talk about what I think they are worth

• [quote]Actors should not get residuals or royalties. I've never understood that. They should get paid once when they film it, and that's it Because those shows air and re-air and the production companies still make money, therefor the actors should also get a stake in that. Since acting isn't exactly a stable career it probably gets a number through the lean years. I have no idea why you care so much what actors make, nor what that has to do with how much the President of the United States makes. Talk about apples and oranges.

• You paying to see a movie has absolutely nothing to do how much an actor should get paid, R55.

• I would pay him $100 just to let me rim him for half an hour. And he'd have to pry my face out of his ass when those 30 minutes were up. I'd lick him for hours.

• [quote]STFU fundie frau @ [R34]. Didn't you get smacked around enough on the Tiger Woods thread? Oh, it's the same poster? Why am I not surprised. Doesn't the moral outrage get old?

• R52, you forgot porn stars, especially "gay for pay." DL queens adore porn stars and hold them in the highest regard, and the more drug and alcohol addled the "stars" are, the more DL queens like them.

• Didn't you queens swear he was gay for years?

• Plenty of straight dudes get regularly trashed on here. The problem with the DL is that it shows no good will towards openly gay stars. It is not meaner to them, because in general it is a board that is bitchy to everyone, including fellow gays. And not even defending that practice, because I think some good will should be shown to our out stars, but that is the situation. And R58, if Van Der Beek was going to start letting creepy old queens rim him he could definitely make way more than than $100. He, including his ass, still looks great.

• Typical of DL freeptards to focus on actors who make too much and away from film companies which make too much and haven't even peformed at the level actors have. The people who SHOULD make the most in every film are the writers because the story is everything. But they don't.

• "JVB is a douche. He's already been married & divorced once and he got his 2nd wife pregnant before he was even divorced from the 1st one." At least he didn't get two women pregnant at the same time.

  Lorenzo Lamas

• I kind of like the beek.

• Whenever you call a straight celebrity a jerk for screwing around on his wife and kids you get called a frau here - or a social conservative etc.