James Van Der Beek | |
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Born | James William Van Der Beek, Jr. March 8, 1977 Cheshire, Connecticut, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1993–present |
Spouse | Heather McComb (2003–2010) Kimberly Brook (2010–present) |
Website | |
Official website |
James William Van Der Beek, Jr. (born March 8, 1977) is an American television, film, and stage actor, known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek. He is also famous for his website, which includes Van Der Beek himself acting out famous internet memes.
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Van Der Beek was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, the son of Melinda (née Weber), a former dancer and gymnastics studio manager, and James William Van Der Beek, Sr., a cellular phone company executive and former professional baseball pitcher.[1][2] He has a brother, Jared (born 1979) and a sister, Juliana (born 1981). He attended Norton Elementary School, Dodd Junior High School, and the Cheshire Academy.
At the age of 15, he asked his mother to take him into New York City to get an agent and try his hand in professional acting. He made his professional debut in the New York premiere of 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 Albee, received good reviews.[3][4] Aged 17, while still in high school, he performed in the musical Shenandoah at the Goodspeed Opera House, and made his feature film debut with a bit part as a bully in the teen-oriented 1995 film Angus. The following year, he shot a small role on the independent film I Love You, I Love You Not.
He attended Drew University, but dropped out to pursue acting. He performed at the Vineyard Theater in New York in Nicky Silver's play, My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine, and he played a supporting role in the independent film Cash Crop, which was originally shot in spring of 1997 and originally titled Harvest until released in 2001.
In early 1997, Van Der Beek auditioned for three television pilots. One of them was for the fledgling WB Network show Dawson's Creek. Van Der Beek won the title role of "Dawson Leery," and the show's 1998 debut was a success that helped to establish the network and its cast, which included Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson. The series, shot in Wilmington, North Carolina, ran for six seasons and was syndicated worldwide.
In 1999, he starred in the teen football drama/sports film Varsity Blues, which held the number 1 spot at the US Box Office for its first two weeks.[5] He won an MTV Movie Award for his role. Around this time he was selected one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World," and he appeared in several other films, including Texas Rangers, Scary Movie, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, playing himself playing Jay in the movie within the movie opposite Jason Biggs as Silent Bob.
In 2002, he played Sean Bateman (younger brother of American Psycho protagonist Patrick Bateman) in the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' The Rules of Attraction, written and directed by Roger Avary. The film was an initial box office failure, but found a cult following on DVD.[6] In 2006 he also appeared on the Direct-to-DVD thriller The Plague, which was produced by Clive Barker and was panned by critics.
After Dawson's Creek ended in 2003, Van Der Beek returned to the off-Broadway stage, in Lanford Wilson's Rain Dance. He completed an unproduced screenplay titled Winning. Since then, he has made a few appearances on television, including a role on Ugly Betty
In 2007 in, Van Der Beek guest-starred in a two-part episode of the series Criminal Minds, in which he played a fanatic religious serial killer with dissociative identity disorder called Tobias Hankel who kidnaps and drugs one of the main characters Spencer Reid played by Matthew Gray Gubler. During these two episodes, Van Der Deek was credited as a Special Guest Star.
In 2008, he made a guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother. Since 2008, he has also had a recurring role on One Tree Hill. He appeared in an episode of the fifth season of Medium. In 2009, He portrayed real life kidnapper Anthony Steven "Tony Zappa" Wright in the Lifetime network television movie Taken In Broad Daylight.
In 2009, Van Der Beek won Best Actor at the 8th Annual San Diego Film Festival for his portrayal of FBI agent Jake Kelly working in the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the political thriller Formosa Betrayed, which also won Best Picture. The film was distributed theatrically in the United States starting February 26, 2010.[7]
On January 5, 2010, TVGuide.com confirmed that Van Der Beek had been cast in a major recurring role on the television series Mercy. He plays Dr. Joe Briggs, the new womanizing ICU chief who harbors a dark secret.[8] He stars alongside Rhona Mitra, Josh Lucas, and Jon Hamm in the Anders Anderson thriller film Stolen.[9]
In 2011, Van Der Beek portrayed Kesha's nemesis in her music video for "Blow".[10]
In July 2003, Van Der Beek married actress Heather McComb. Van Der Beek's representative confirmed in June 2009 that the couple had separated two months earlier in April after almost six years of marriage,[11] and on November 20, 2009, Van Der Beek filed for divorce.[12] Their divorce was finalized on March 31, 2010.[13]
On April 9, 2010, Van Der Beek announced via Twitter that he and his girlfriend, business consultant Kimberly Brook, were expecting their first child together, a girl.[14] Van Der Beek and Brook, who is Jewish, married on August 1, 2010, in a small ceremony at the Kabbalah Center near Dizengoff Plaza in Tel Aviv, Israel.[15] The couple's daughter, Olivia Van Der Beek, was born on September 25, 2010.[16] On October 26, 2011, Van Der Beek announced their second child was on the way. [17] [18]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1993 | Clarissa Explains It All | Paulie | Episode: "Alter Ego" |
1995 | Angus | Rick Sandford | |
1996 | Aliens in the Family | Ethan | Episode: "You Don't Have a Pet to Be Popular" |
1996 | I Love You, I Love You Not | Tony | |
1998 | Harvest | James Peterson | |
1998 | Castle in the Sky | Pazu (voice) | |
1998–2003 | Dawson's Creek | Dawson Leery | 128 episodes |
1999 | Varsity Blues | Jonathan 'Mox' Moxon | |
2000 | Scary Movie | Dawson Leery (uncredited) | |
2001 | Texas Rangers (film) | Lincoln Rogers Dunnison | |
2001 | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Himself | |
2002 | The Rules of Attraction | Sean Bateman | |
2005 | Three | John-O | Episode: "Pilot" |
2005 | Standing Still | Simon | |
2006 | Sex, Power, Love & Politics | Ozzie | TV movie |
2006 | Danny Roane: First Time Director | James Van Der Beek | |
2006 | Robot Chicken | Various (voice) | Episode: "Rodigitti" Episode: "Massage Chair" |
2006 | The Plague | Tom Russell | Video |
2007 | Eye of the Beast | Dan Leland | TV movie |
2007 | Football Wives | Brian Reynolds | TV movie |
2007 | Criminal Minds | Tobias Hankel / Raphael | Episode: "The Big Game" Episode: "Revelations" |
2007 | Final Draft | Paul Twist | |
2007 | Ugly Betty | Luke Carnes | Episode: "Grin and Bear It" |
2008 | How I Met Your Mother | Simon | Episode: "Sandcastles in the Sand" |
2008–2009 | One Tree Hill | Adam Reese | 4 episodes |
2009 | Eva Adams | Connor Strikes | TV movie |
2009 | Taken In Broad Daylight | Tony Zappa | TV movie |
2009 | Medium | Dylan Hoyt | Episode: "All in the Family" |
2009 | Stolen | Diploma / Roggiani | |
2009 | Formosa Betrayed | Jake Kelly | |
2009 | The Storm | Dr. Jonathan Kirk | TV miniseries |
2009 | The Forgotten | Judd Shaw | Episode: "Lucky John" |
2009 | Mrs. Miracle | Seth Webster | TV movie |
2010 | Mercy | Dr. Joe Briggs | 10 episodes |
2011 | The Big Bang | Johnny Nova | |
2011 | DILF Khakis | Short film | |
2011 | Vandermemes | Short film | |
2011 | Asshole for Hire | Short film | |
2011 | Van Der Week: Behind the Scenes | Short film | |
2011 | Ke$ha "Blow" Video | Himself | Music Video |
2011 | Tosh.0 | Himself | |
2011 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Rex Tamlin | "To the Boy in the Knit Blue Cap" |
2011 | Franklin and Bash | Nathan Conner | Episode: "Bachelor Party" |
2012 | After Lately | Himself | Episode: "The PA Hole" |
2012 | Apartment 23 | Himself | ABC Pilot |
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
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1999 | Varsity Blues | Best Breakthrough Male Performance | Won |
2001 | Scary Movie | Best Cameo in a Movie | Won |
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
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1999 | Dawson's Creek | TV – Choice Actor | Nominated |
Varsity Blues | Film – Breakout Performance | Won |
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
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2000 | Varsity Blues | Favorite Actor – Newcomer (Internet Only) | Nominated |
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
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2009 | Formosa Betrayed | Best Actor | Won |
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
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2011 | JamesVanDerMemes.com | OMG Internet Award | Won |
James Van Der Beek is commonly referenced in an assortment of television shows and movies. In the movie The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard the character Jibby Newsome turns on Dawson's Creek and exclaims "James Van Der Beek! My nigga!" On the television show Tosh.0, in which Van Der Beek actually appears on, the comedian Daniel Tosh makes somewhat frequent references to the Beek. In Ke$ha's music video for "Blow", she has a laser war with Van Der Beek and refers to him as "Van Der Douche". He is also satirically depicted in a trailer for David Firth's cartoon series Burnt Face Man. His name appears in the song "Bustin' Up a Starbucks" by Mike Doughty.
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