June Diane Raphael remembers James Van Der Beek ahead of 'Elle' premiere

June Diane Raphael recently reminisced about her time with James Van Der Beek on the set of Elle.

For those unaware, Raphael plays Eva Woods and Van Der Beek portrays Dean Wilson in the upcoming Legally Blonde sequel Elle, marking his final role onscreen role, as the 48-year-old American actor passed away from complications related to stage 3 colorectal cancer on February 11, 2026.

The 46-year-old American actress and comedian remembered her late co-star in a talk with PEOPLE magazine, revealing that he was fond of his children and would always talk about them while shooting Elle.

Raphael said, "I consider my time with James the most meaningful time I've spent in my career. I'm so honored to have had that time with him and to have shared those scenes with him."

She went on to on admit that Van Der Beek was "just so charming and easy, easy, easy to work with. There's an ease about him that I found really amazing."

"The main thing I'm walking away with is James — whenever there's a spare moment and they call, 'Cut,' and sometimes even when they didn't — was just always talking about his family, and his kids, and how much he adored them," the Burning Love star shared.

James Van Der Beek, the Dawson's Creek star, welcomed six children with his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek: three daughters Olivia, 15, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 10, and Gwendolyn, 7, and two sons Joshua, 14, and Jeremiah, 4.

It is pertinent to mention that Elle is scheduled to be released on Prime Video on July 1, 2026. Watch the trailer here.