Alex Goodlett/Getty Images James Van Der Beek's longtime friend, actor Mehcad Brooks, is sharing how the Dawson's Creek actor braved his final days. "One of the greatest honors of my life, I got to be there [the] last four to five days, every day, and hold his hand, and pray with him, and tell him jokes, and tell him how much I love him, and sing to him," Brooks, 45, said in an emotional Instagram video on Wednesday, February 11, after news broke of Van Der Beek's death at the age of 48. The Desperate Housewives alum continued, "Literally just watch this man handle death like a king.