Everything about James Van Der Beek totally explained
James William Van Der Beek, Jr. (born
March 8,
1977) is an
American television and film
actor,
known for his role as
Dawson Leery in
Dawson's Creek.
Early life
Van Der Beek was born in
Cheshire,
Connecticut, the son of Melinda, a former dancer and gymnastics studio manager, and James William Van Der Beek, Sr, a
cellular phone company executive and former professional
baseball pitcher. His father retired from baseball shortly after James' birth and took a job with the phone company as sales account manager.
The family then moved to
Cheshire, Connecticut, where James played
football,
baseball, ran
track and field and even had a brief stint on the
diving team. He mowed lawns around the neighborhood to earn money, and earned a full academic scholarship to the private school
Cheshire Academy.
He suffered a
concussion at age 13 while playing football, which prevented him from playing the rest of the season. So instead, he played
Danny Zuko in his hometown's community theater production of
Grease. This lead to many more community theater roles, and at age 15 he was so passionate about performing that he asked his mother to take him into
New York City that summer to see if he could get an agent and try his hand professionally.
He got an agent his first day in New York, but then auditioned for commercials for a year and a half with no success.
Career
Professional Debut
Van Der Beek made his professional debut in the New York Premiere of three-time
Pulitzer Prize Winner
Edward Albee's play
Finding the Sun at the
Signature Theatre Company in which he played the role of "Fergus." The production, which was also directed by Mr. Albee, received rave reviews, especially for the young Van Der Beek.
David Richards of the
New York Times called his performance "refreshingly un-self-conscious", and
Vincent Canby wrote, "Mr. Albee has directed this text with skill, humor and an excellent cast, most notably (if only because he really is 16) James Van Der Beek, who plays the boy with the comic ease of someone with 20 years' experience onstage." With this experience under his belt, Van Der Beek was now sure he wanted to pursue acting.
At age 17, while still in high school, he performed in the musical
Shenandoah at the
Goodspeed Opera House made his feature film debut as a bully in the teen-oriented 1995 film
Angus, and shot the independent film
I Love You, I Love You Not opposite
Claire Danes and
Jude Law.
After graduating High School, Van Der Beek attended
Drew University on a partial academic scholarship, where he majored in English and
Sociology. While there, he performed in Drew's all-male
a cappella group 36 Madison Avenue. During his stay he performed at the
Vinyard Theater in New York in
Nicky Silver's play,
My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine, and played a supporting role in the independent film
Cash Crop, which was originally shot in spring of 1997 and originally titled
Harvest and was released (largely on his name, despite the fact that his role was quite small) in 2001 after he'd become famous.
Big break
Toward the end of his sophomore year of college, James took the
Metro-North train into New York - as he often did - to audition for three
Television pilots. One of them was for the fledgling
WB Network, which he didn’t even get on the closed-circuit cable service that ran to his dorm room. The show was
Dawson's Creek. Van Der Beek played the title role of "Dawson Leery", and show's debut in 1998 was a massive success that not only established the network, but made stars (and
teen idols) of its cast, which also included
Katie Holmes,
Michelle Williams, and
Joshua Jackson. The series, shot in
Wilmington,
North Carolina, ran for six years, was hugely popular among the coveted 18-34 year old demographic, and was syndicated all over the world.
Van Der Beek parlayed the success of the show into film in 1999, starring in the teen football comedy
Varsity Blues which was #1 at the box office for two weeks, broke the current box-office record for Martin Luther King Day weekend at that time, and grossed $53 million in the US alone. Van Der Beek won an
MTV Movie Award for his leading role.
In 2002, he turned his wholesome image on its head by playing
Sean Bateman (younger brother of
American Psycho protagonist
Patrick Bateman) in the film adaptation of
Brett Easton Ellis'
The Rules of Attraction, which was written and directed by
Roger Avary. While the film initially made only a modest profit at the box office, it has gone on to become a cult classic on DVD throughout the world.
During this time, Van Der Beek was chosen as one of
People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" in 1998, hosted
Saturday Night Live, and appeared in several other films, including
Texas Rangers,
Scary Movie, and
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.
The next chapter
As soon as
Dawson's Creek ended in 2003, James immediately returned to the New York Stage, in the New York Premiere of
Lanford Wilson's
Rain Dance.
He then married actress
Heather McComb in July of 2003.
Since then, James has been busy working out of the spotlight. He completed his first screenplay,
Winning, a hero's journey/love story set in the world of modern-day
Major League Baseball, and has optioned several properties to develop, including Charles Bowdon's non-fiction book
A Shadow in the City.
He has made a few notable appearances on television recently, including a role in
Ugly Betty, and a performance in 2007 in the two-part, post-
Super Bowl episode of
Criminal Minds in which he played a young man with
Dissociative Identity Disorder.
He recently wrapped the independent film
The Boy in the Box with
Josh Lucas and
Jon Hamm. He also had a guest appearance on the
CBS sitcom
How I Met Your Mother on
April 21, 2008 in which he played an old flame of Robin's who she falls for again.
Personal life
Van Der Beek and his wife live primarily in
Los Angeles; both are attendees of the
Kabbalah Center.
He enjoys playing the guitar and participating in sports; his favorite football team is the
Green Bay Packers.
Filmography
Awards
- 1999 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance (for Varsity Blues)
- 2001 MTV Movie Award for Best Cameo in a Movie (for Scary Movie)
He was also nominated for the 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Newcomer (for Varsity Blues)
Trivia
(source: [IMDB.com])
His hobbies are: playing the guitar, sleeping, staying with his friends and playing sports.
His favourite movie is
The Shawshank Redemption (1994).
Lives in New York City for most of the summer - when his show is on hiatus or when he isn't shooting a film.
James enjoys watching football on weekends and still plays football with his friends whenever he's the time.
The necklace that he wore on "
Dawson's Creek" (1998) was made by his mother.
Is a
Dutch-American
Oddly, the literal translation of his
Dutch surname means 'from the creek'.
Further Information
Get more info on 'James Van Der Beek'.
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