James Van Der Beek failed to educate my brain about striptease

James Van Der Beek knew he wanted to take part in “The Real Full Monty” straight away, complete with striptease.

“I saw that it was about raising awareness about early detection of cancer and reducing the stigma for men to get checked. And I knew right away that I was going to do that,” he told Fox News Digital.

He added: “I neglected to inform my brain until the very last second because my brain would have completely broken down the entire time.”

Van Der Beek, who recently announced he had been diagnosed with colon cancer, said he was doing “great” so far.

JAMES VAN DER BEEK ‘DROPPED A BOMB’ ON ‘REAL FULL MONTY’ CO-STARS WITH CANCER

James Van Der Beek said he “knew straight away” that he wanted to sign up for “The Real Full Monty” to raise awareness about cancer testing. (©2024 Fox Media LLC. CR: Drew Herrmann/FOX)

“The Real Full Monty,” airing Monday night on Fox, stars Van Der Beek, Bruno Tonioli, Tyler Posey, Taye Diggs, Chris Jones and Anthony Anderson, who also executive produced the special, to raise awareness of prostate, testicular diseases and colon cancer testing, inspired by the popular 1997 British comedy “The Full Monty.”

WATCH: JAMES VAN DER BEEK “FAILURE TO INFORM MY BRAIN ABOUT STRIPTEASE.”

“The first reaction is absolutely, I would love to do it,” Tyler Posey said. “And then I think most of us as actors have done nude scenes and there’s usually, you know, something that you can cover up. So I thought: That’s going to happen, right? And they said: No, no, no, no, no.

Van Der Beek joked: “I neglected to inform my brain until the very last second because my brain would have completely broken down the whole time.” (©2024 Fox Media LLC. CR: Ray Mickshaw/FOX)

Anderson teased Posey, saying, “No Tyler, there won’t be a sock!”

Posey continued: “I expected that to be it. And then I heard no. And then there was this crazy mix of sympathy, excitement and fear. And I think, I have to, I have to get through it.’ I have to do that now, you know? And I felt honored.

Tyler Posey said he originally thought there would be a modest sock for the striptease. (©2024 Fox Media LLC. CR: Ray Mickshaw/FOX)

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Taye Diggs added: “Ultimately we created something that we are very proud of. It’s for a good cause. And, and, you know, again, the message, when we get there and we do it. “Something, some kind of step out of our comfort zone, well, hopefully you can do it too and get tested and do the right thing.”

WATCH: THE CAST OF ‘THE REAL FULL MONTY’ SHARE THE HARD WORK THAT GOES INTO LEARNING TO TAKE OFF FOR CANCER AWARENESS

“I’m just interested to see if the network will allow us to do this again after they see this version,” Anderson quipped.

“I realized it was about raising awareness about early detection of cancer and reducing the stigma for men to get checked. And I knew right away that I would do that.”

–James Van Der Beek

He praised the show’s choreographer, Emmy winner Mandy Moore, for ensuring the boys were as focused as possible.

“If you could only imagine Mandy Moore trying to juggle all of this,” Anderson said, adding, “dealing with six grown men getting naked in front of each other. And her. And just trying to get it right.”

Anderson praised choreographer Mandy Moore for bringing the cast together for “The Real Full Monty.” (©2024 Fox Media LLC. CR: Ray Mickshaw/FOX)

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“Dancing with the Stars” judge Bruno Tonioli added that Moore was “a saint” and admitted that even for him, a former professional dancer, the props and costumes were challenging.

“I hated the pants. Oh my god, those pants. They never go out in the same place at the same time.”

Anderson teased, “That’s always been your problem, Bruno.”

He quipped back: “I should have done it naked from the start, so much easier!”

Bruno Tonioli with Anthony Anderson, Tyler Posey, James Van Der Beek and choreographer Mandy Moore said the pants for the striptease were difficult. “They never resolve at the same time in the same place,” he said. (Ray Mickshaw/FOX)

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The “Blackish” star also joked that Tonioli was ready to take off her clothes right away.

“That’s how you came to our first rehearsal. Bruno was the first to get naked,” Anderson said. “I thought, Bruno, we’ll just introduce ourselves: ‘Hello, I’m Anthony’ (and) Bruno (was just) out. Wow. It’s like, wow.”

WATCH: JAMES VAN DER BEEK LEFT A BOMB ON THE CASTMATES OF THE REAL FULL MONTY

Diggs added: “We had to catch up,” and Van Der Beek praised Tonioli for his “fearless” leadership.

During practice all the boys got in the mood for the dance.

Posey said the cast was “really in sync” once they nailed the dance moves. (©2024 Fox Media LLC. CR: Ray Mickshaw/FOX)

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Posey said the move that got him into the groove for the striptease was twirling the tie over his head.

“There is something about this movement in general. I felt like we were all really in sync,” he said.

“Really, it’s like an old school striptease,” Diggs added.

The two-hour special, “The Real Full Monty,” airs Monday night on Fox and streams Tuesday on Hulu.