James Van Der Beek

James Van Der Beek
Born James William Van Der Beek, Jr.
March 8, 1977 (1977-03-08) (age 34)
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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Early life and stage career

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.

Television and film career

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]

Personal life

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]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
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 Rules of Attraction, TheThe 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 Plague, TheThe 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 Storm, TheThe Storm Dr. Jonathan Kirk TV miniseries
2009 Forgotten, TheThe Forgotten Judd Shaw Episode: "Lucky John"
2009 Mrs. Miracle Seth Webster TV movie
2010 Mercy Dr. Joe Briggs 10 episodes
2011 Big Bang, TheThe 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

Awards and nominations

MTV Movie Awards
Year Nominated work Award Result
1999 Varsity Blues Best Breakthrough Male Performance Won
2001 Scary Movie Best Cameo in a Movie Won
Teen Choice Awards
Year Nominated work Award Result
1999 Dawson's Creek TV – Choice Actor Nominated
Varsity Blues Film – Breakout Performance Won
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Year Nominated work Award Result
2000 Varsity Blues Favorite Actor – Newcomer (Internet Only) Nominated
San Diego Film Festival
Year Nominated work Award Result
2009 Formosa Betrayed Best Actor Won
NewNowNext Awards
Year Nominated work Award Result
2011 JamesVanDerMemes.com OMG Internet Award Won

In popular culture

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.

References

  1. ^ "James Van Der Beek profile". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/94/James-Van-Der-Beek.html. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  2. ^ "They Have Followed A Star At Christmas". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1999-12-23. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/timesdispatch/access/47446718.html?dids=47446718:47446718&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+23%2C+1999&author=Steve+Clark&pub=Richmond+Times+-+Dispatch&desc=THEY+HAVE+FOLLOWED+A+STAR+AT+CHRISTMAS&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  3. ^ Richards, David (February 10, 1994). "Review/Theater; 3 Albee One-Acters About People Boxed In". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4DB1538F933A25751C0A962958260. Retrieved May 5, 2010. 
  4. ^ Canby, Vincent (February 20, 1994). "SUNDAY VIEW; A Season of Albee, Obsessions Safely Intact". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E7DE1F38F933A15751C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3. Retrieved May 5, 2010. 
  5. ^ "Varsity Blues (1999)". Box Office Mojo. 1999-04-23. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=varsityblues.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  6. ^ "RULES OF ATTRACTION Review [Ain't It Cool News]". Aintitcool.com. http://www.aintitcool.com/node/13586. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  7. ^ "Formosa Betrayed". Formosathemovie.com. http://www.formosathemovie.com/news.php. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  8. ^ Joyce Eng. "James Van Der Beek Scrubs In to Mercy". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/James-Van-Der-1013407.aspx. 
  9. ^ "STOLEN, Starring Jon Hamm & Josh Lucas Acquired". Ifcfilms.com. http://www.ifcfilms.com/inside-ifc-films/stolen-starring-jon-hamm-josh-lucas-acquired. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  10. ^ Darren Franich. "James Van Der Beek talks Ke$ha, killing unicorns, and playing himself". EW.com PopWatch. http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/02/26/james-van-der-beek-kesha-blow. 
  11. ^ "James Van Der Beek, Wife Split – Celebrity News". UsMagazine.com. 2009-06-09. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/james-van-der-beek-wife-split-200996. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  12. ^ Adam Bryant. "James Van Der Beek Files for Divorce". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/VanDer-Beek-Divorce-1012355.aspx. 
  13. ^ 12:46 PM ET (2010-03-31). "Van Der Beek Divorce Settlement". News-briefs.ew.com. http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/03/31/james-van-der-beek-divorce-settlement. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
  14. ^ "James Van Der Beek, Girlfriend Expecting a Baby". 2010-04-09. http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/04/09/james-van-der-beek-girlfriend-expecting-a-baby. 
  15. ^ "Mazal Tov: Dawson Marries". 2010-08-01. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3928226,00.html. 
  16. ^ "Tweet". 2010-09-27. http://twitter.com/vanderjames/status/25738571112. 
  17. ^ http://twitter.com/#!/vanderjames/status/129041104942280704
  18. ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20540033,00.html

External links