Casper Van Dien Biography
Summary
"Casper Robert Van Dien, Jr." (born December 18 1968, in or Ridgefield, New Jersey) is an American actor, best known for his role as Johnny Rico in "Starship Troopers" and most recently as bodyguard Andre in My Network TV's "Watch Over Me".
Biography
Early life
Casper grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey. His mother is a retired nursery school teacher, and his father a retired U.S. Navy pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Besides his father, his grandfather was a marine during World War II. Van Dien is a descendant of an old Dutch family long settled in the New York area; his other heritage includes Swedish, French, English and Native American. When he was older, his family returned to Florida, where he enrolled at the St. Petersburg branch of the Admiral Farragut Military Academy, graduating 3rd in command.
Next, he went to Florida State University in Tallahassee, enrolling in pre-med. Looking for college electives, he began taking theater classes. Soon acting began to overshadow medicine, and he dropped out of FSU to pursue a career in the field.
Career
Moving to L.A., he landed a number of small parts in various television series and movies. Two early breaks were recurring roles on "One Life To Live" and "Beverly Hills 90210". This was followed by parts in several straight-to-video releases, including "Night Eyes 4", "Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus", "Night Scream" and, ironically, "Casper: A Spirited Beginning".
He achieved more notice as the lead in the biopic "James Dean Race with Destiny". Soon after, he got the breakthrough role of Johnny Rico in Paul Verhoeven's science fiction action film "Starship Troopers". This directly led to his being cast as the 'Lord of the Jungle' in "Tarzan and the Lost City" Soon following was the role of Brom von Brunt in Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow", a reworking of the classic Washington Irving tale.
Returning to his television roots, in 2000 he appeared in the Aaron Spelling's short-lived NBC series "Titans" with Yasmine Bleeth, John Barrowman, Perry King and Victoria Principal.
In 2005, he produced and appeared in the reality series I Married a Princess, about his professional and personal life with Catherine Oxenberg, whose mother is Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia.
In 2006 through 2007, Van Dien was cast in the My Network TV telenovela "Watch Over Me" as Andre, bodyguard to bio-terrorist Michael Krieger (played by Marc Menard). His wife Oxenberg also co-starred in the series as Leandra Thames.
Personal life
He was married to Carrie Mitchum (the granddaughter of Robert Mitchum) from 1993 to 1997. They had two children: Cappy (Casper Robert Mitchum Van Dien) and Gracie (Caroline Dorothy Grace Van Dien). The only time the couple worked together was near the end of their marriage, in "James Dean: Race with Destiny", which also starred Robert Mitchum.
He dated Denise Richards for a short time, while they were making "Starship Troopers".
During the filming of "The Collectors", he met Catherine Oxenberg. They worked together again in the Christian thriller "The Omega Code". The two married in May of 1999. Oxenberg had a daughter, India, from a previous marriage. Van Dien and Oxenberg now have two daughters of their own, Maya and Celeste.
In 2006, Van Dien was a guest on "Larry King Live", where he admitted that he was sexually abused by a female babysitter at the age of eight. The abuse was a secret he kept until he was 32.
Trivia
General
The name Casper is a family tradition, given to the eldest son of his family for more than 11 generations.
Mark Twain is his great great great uncle.
He learned the box step, the jitterbug, and ballroom dancing from his parents.
He grew up on the same block as actor Robert Sean Leonard, and raced go-carts in their neighborhood.
He was a published poet at 17 years old.
In high school, he was often referred to as 'Ken doll' due to his good looks, and got into many fights for that reason.
Coincidentally, he was later described as a 'perfect life-sized Ken doll.'
He was an extra in two 1989 episodes of "Saved by the Bell".
People magazine gave him the title 'Sexiest Soap Star' in November 2000.
He played the trumpet for 7 years, and played the bugle for 'Taps' and 'Reveille' during boot camp for "Starship Troopers".
He filmed several scenes as Patrick Bateman, Sean's brother, in 2002's "The Rules of Attraction". This was the same character that Christian Bale played in "American Psycho". However, the scenes wound up on the cutting room floor.
Among his good friends are Bailey Chase (who lived in Van Dien's house in 1998 for a year) and Kenny Johnson.
Coincidences
The street on which he grew up in New Jersey, Van Dien Avenue, was named after his great great grandfather.
The last name of James Dean (whom he portrayed in a biopic) is a derivative of Van Dien.
"Starship Troopers" was filmed primarily in Casper, Wyoming.
He played a suitor of Katrina van Tassel in "Sleepy Hollow". In fact, Van Dien's family are cousins to the van Tassels.
Filmography
"Kill Shot" (1995) ... Randy
"Lethal Orbit" (1996)
"Love Notes" (1996) ... Adam
"Night Eyes 4" (1996) .... Roy
"Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus" (1996) ... King Tal
"The Colony" (1996)
"Night Scream" (1997) ... Teddie/Ray Ordwell Jr.
"Casper: A Spirited Beginning" (1997) .... Bystander
"James Dean: Race with Destiny" (1998) ... James Dean
"Starship Troopers" (1997) ... Johnny Rico
"Tarzan and the Lost City" (1998) ... Tarzan/John Clayton
"Casper Meets Wendy" (1998) ... Crewcut Man
"Modern Vampires" (1998) ... Dallas
"On the Border" (1998) ... Jake Barnes
"Shark Attack" (1999) ... Steven McKray
"The Collectors" (1999) ... A.K.
"The Omega Code" (1999) ... Gillen Lane
"Thrill Seekers" (1999) ... Tom Merrick
"Sleepy Hollow" (1999) ... Brom Van Brunt
"Sanctimony" (2000) ... Tom Merrick
"The Tracker" (2000) ... Connor Spears
"Partners" (2000) ... Drifter
"Python" (2000) ... Bart Parker
"Cutaway" (2000) ... Delmira
"Road Rage" (2000) ... Jim Travis
"Windfall" (2001) ... Ace Logan
"Chasing Destiny" (2001) ... Bobby Moritz
"Under Heavy Fire" (2001) ... Capt. Ramsey
"Danger Beneath the Sea" (2001) ... Commander Miles Sheffield
"The Vector File" (2002) ... Gerry
"Big Spender" (2003) ... Eddie Burton
"Premonition aka The Psychic (USA title)" (2004) ... Jack Barnes
"Maiden Voyage" (2004) .... Kyle Considine
"Skeleton Man" (2004) ... Staff Sgt. Oberron
"What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?" (2004) (uncredited) .... Romantic Moritz
"Dracula 3000" (2004) ... Capt. Abraham Van Helsing
"Hollywood Flies" (2005) ... Zach
TV Work
"Menu for Murder" (1990) .... Life Guard
"Dangerous Women" (1991) - Brad Morris
"Freshman Dorm" (1992) ... Zack Taylor
"Life Goes On" (1992) - Udder Madness (episode) ... Guest Star
"The Webbers" (1993) (as Casper Robert Van Dien Jr.) .... Guy Miranda brings home
"One Life to Live" (1993-1994) ... Ty Moody
"Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (1994) - The Cattle Drive (episode) ... Jesse
"Beverly Hills, 90210" (1994) ... Griffin Stone
"Married... with Children" (1994) - Blonde and Blonder (episode) ... Eric
"Silk Stalkings" (1995) - I Know What Scares You (episode) ... Jeff Chadwick
"The Outer Limits" (1997) - Heart's Desire (episode) ... Jake Miller
"Titans" (2000-2001) ... Chandler Williams
"Rock Me Baby" (2004) - Love at First Flight (episode) ... Michael
"I Married a Princess" (2005) ... Himself
"The Fallen Ones" (2005) ... Matt Fletcher
"Personal Effects" (2005) .... Chris Locke
"Officer Down" (2005) .... Officer Philip Gammon
"The Curse of King Tut's Tomb" (2006) .... Danny Freemont
"Meltdown" (2006) .... Tom
"Slayer" (2006) .... Hawk
"Watch Over Me" (2006) ... Andre
External links
(Casper Van Dien's "Watch Over Me" profile at MyNetworkTV.com)
(Casper Van Dien's Official Website)
(Official Tarzan and the Lost City site)
(CNN.com interview with Casper Van Dien)
(Casper Van Dien interview at TheCinemaSource.com)
('I Married A Princess' article in the Malibu Times)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Casper Van Dien.
