See a Resemblance? Danielle Fishel Recalls the Time She Mistook James Van Der Beek for Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Mar. 15, 2025

Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank, Marc Kayne/Warner Bros Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock

See the two handsome gentlemen in the photos above? Can you tell them apart? Because apparently some people couldn’t.

ThePod Meets Worldhosts werechatting with Kelly Packard, who mentioned that she’d briefly dated Gosselaar for two weeks when she was starring in NBC’sCalifornia Dreamsback in the ’90s.

Joseph Del Valle/NBCU Photo Bank

“We love Mark-Paul around here, a.k.a. James Van Der Beek,” Fishel joked.

“Mark-Paul was so good onDawson’s Creekthat it’s like — We still we still talk about it to this day,” Strong added with a laugh.

Fishel went on to explain the trio’s inside joke, which dates back to last year when Gosselaar was a guest onPod Meets World.

“Even though he was never on it!” Fishel chimed in.

“If I think back, maybe somebody has said to me, ‘Hey, where’s Topanga?’ ” Gosselaar admitted. “If I’m texting with my friends and … we’re just joking around, I’ll basically throw out a meme of James Van Der Beek and basically say it’s me.”

James Van Der Beek in ‘Dawson’s Creek’.Getty

Getty

“The three name thing too — Mark-Paul Gosselaar, James Van Der Beek — even though it’s not. And we’re kind of Dutch and the whole thing, and we have big foreheads,” he added.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“It was 100 percent you,” Fishel insisted.

“No,” Gosselaar said. “I almost feel like this is Van Der Beek.”

“It may be James Van Der Beek!” Fishel conceded, laughing. “I’m just realizing right now, it was totally James Van Der Beek.”

Mark-Paul Gosselaar in 2024 and James Van Der Beek in 2020.JSquared Photography/NBCUniversal via Getty, Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

JSquared Photography/NBCUniversal via Getty, Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

“It couldn’t have been scripted any better than it was,” Strong told Packard on the more recentPod Meets Worldepisode.

“It was the most cringe moment,” Fishel agreed.

“At least he’s a good sport,” Packard said.

Fishel agreed that Gosselaar was, indeed, a very good sport about the mixup. “He’s been very kind to me about that,” she said.

source: people.com