James Van Der Beek Looks Back on His Role in ‘Pose’ (Exclusive)

FX’s critically acclaimed series Pose spotlighted the underground ballroom scene and culture unlike ever before on the small screen. Set in New York City throughout the late 1980s, the show highlighted a major sector of the LGBTQ+ community in a time when their practices weren’t always accepted by the mainstream, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic was at its peak sparking fear throughout the country. There were also intersecting storylines of the haves and the have-nots, including one of New Jersey husband Stan (Evan Peters) seeking wealth and power under the tutelage of businessman Matt (James Van Der Beek). Both men work for Donald Trump in Trump Tower. 

Van Der Beek starred in the series for just one season, but he contributed to its ultimate success. The show went on to win awards and do record numbers within its three seasons, with some fans shocked that it came to an end so soon. Still, it’s place in popular culture remains. Van Der Beek told PopCulture.com it was one of his best acting experiences.

“I loved it, man. My cast, they were so cool. Some of them, they hadn’t acted very much. Some of them, it was their first time acting, and they just crushed it. It was a real eye-opening education,” he told us in a recent interview. “I loved working with Ryan Murphy and the whole crew, everyone. Everyone was just A+, across the board. That was a real treat.”

Regarding its cultural impact and ultimate ending, Van Der Beek says the show was unprecedented. “I just remember saying yes to it automatically because it was a world, at the time, that I hadn’t really seen portrayed. It was a different moment culturally, for sure. But the length of shows is always determined by a number of factors. So I don’t know, you can’t predict it, you can’t second guess it. You just kind of are grateful for shows for however long they run.”

The show’s creators spoke on the show’s brief run in 2021. He explained that he and Murphy went into the show with a beginning and end in mind.

“If you watch this season, and more specifically the finale, that was what it was always intended to be,” Steven Canals said during a virtual discussion for the show, as reported by Variety. “If you go back to the first season, everything was a set up for this final chapter. Stories have a beginning, middle and an end, and this final season was the end of this three-arc narrative that we’ve been telling. … It’s us finally allowing our characters to explore what it means to have all of the things that they very clearly stated in the first season that they wanted.”