James Van Der Beek regrets turning down a role in Wedding Crashers.

The Dawson's Creek actor rejected the chance to audition for the part of Sack Lodge - the onscreen boyfriend of Rachel McAdams' character - in the 2005 comedy movie because he was "worried" about being portrayed in a "certain way," but he now wishes he had gone up against Bradley Cooper for the job.

"I look at some of my decisions in that time and I think, 'Why did I do that?' I turned down auditions for things I probably shouldn't have, like the role that went to Bradley Cooper in Wedding Crashers because I was worried about being seen in a certain way. In retrospect that was something of an unnecessary worry."

James felt "burned out" when he finished filming Dawson's Creek - which lasted for six seasons from 1998 to 2003 - and he was glad to have a break from his "exhausting" schedule.

"In retrospect I look back and I'm grateful. But it was an exhausting six-year marathon. I was shooting movies or doing photo shoots when the show was on hiatus. It was just a really long haul and I felt burned out when it ended. I needed time to duck away and disappear, figure things out and grow up a bit. When I was 24 the character I played on TV was a teenager losing his virginity," the 35 year-old actor added.