Katie Holmes Pays Tribute to 'Dawson's Creek' Costar After His Death

Katie Holmes, who played Joey Potter on Dawson's Creek , has paid tribute to one of her former costars who has died.

Actor Obi Ndefo, who portrayed Bessie Potter's boyfriend Bodie on the popular WB/CW series, attended drama school at Yale University, People reported. He died at the age of 51. His sister, Nkem Ndefo, announced the sad news of his death in a Facebook post over the weekend. "Heartbroken at the loss of my younger brother," she wrote, "and knowing he’s finally at peace."

Katie Holmes shared a photo of Ndefo and their costar, Mary-Margaret Humes, on Instagram, along with the message, "He was wonderful to work with and such a kind man. I send prayers and grace to his family. Rest in Peace."

Humes, who played Dawson Leery's mom Gail on the series, posted her own tribute to Ndefo, writing on Instagram, "These words don’t come easy." She continued, "It’s hard for me to conceive that you have left us, my dear friend."

Paying tribute to Ndefo, Humes explained, "You always were and always will be a bright shining light. What an example of pure unfiltered love and tenacity you set as you faced life’s challenges of recent." Finally, Humes wrote, "I will cherish all of our messages of love and support to each other over the past few years. Rest in peace sweet warrior."

As well as being an actor, Ndefo was a yoga teacher and writer. In 2019, he was involved in a terrible accident, which caused him to become a double amputee, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"He was loading his groceries from the natural foods store into a cooler in the trunk of his parked car when an SUV speeding down Beverly Boulevard veered out of its lane and slammed into him," the newspaper explained. "Obi’s right leg was severed, his left hung on tenuously by skin alone."

After surviving the devastating incident, Ndefo started using prosthetic legs, and continued to train to strengthen his body. "I couldn’t live in this world without becoming sort of like an Olympic athlete of certain things, you know—of kindness and of health—because there is no other choice for me," he told the Los Angeles Times . "So there’s a sort of rigor to me, and I think, 'OK my legs are severed. I don’t know how to do this, but I know how to do this."

As well as starring on Dawson's Creek , Ndefo appeared in popular series such as NCIS: Los Angeles, The West Wing , and Stargate SG-1, per IMDb .