Do you remember the first meme you ever saw? Well, James Van Der Beek and his daughter will never forget the first meme she saw because it comes from the TV series Dawson’s Creek, the show that made him famous.
The hit drama series first aired in 1998 and ran for six seasons, boasting a cast including Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson. The ‘90s TV show had a catchy theme tune, and lots of romantic entanglements, and it gave us a classic meme, too.
The image of Van Der Beek ugly crying has long been a part of popular culture, and it will probably spend a lot of time in the Van Der Beek family group chat now, too, as the actor told People his daughter had discovered the meme.
“For some online learning, we got [the kids] iPads and they immediately discovered memes. So it started, my eldest sent me a meme of myself,” Van Der Beek explained. Apparently, the actor “sent her one of me dancing or something,” and his 12-year-old “immediately hit me with the cry face. I thought, ‘That’s aggressive.'”
According to Van Der Beek, his 10-year-old son has also picked up on his dad’s fame, and the actors revealed, “My son can sniff out when we walk into a restaurant, and somebody recognises me — the skill that took me like 20 years to learn. He just gets it: ‘Daddy, those ladies at the table right now? They know.’ It’s interesting,” Van Der Beek added.
While Van Der Beek hasn’t done anything huge since the show, he has appeared in various comedy series like Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother and more recently popped up in the comedy movie Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
For more throwbacks, check out our list of the best ‘90s movies. Or, tap into meme culture some more with our guide to the Don’t Worry Darling drama.