James
Van Der Beek - Dawson Leery
Fate
certainly played a hand in James Van Der Beek's entrance into the acting
world, but it was his dedication and talent that earned leading roles in
"Dawson's Creek" and two provocative new films - "I Love You...I Love You
Not" and "Harvest." Suffering a mild concussion when he was 13 years old,
the athletic Van Der Beek wasn't permitted to play on the football team
that year. So, for the first time, he decided to try out for the school
play and landed the lead role of Danny Zuko in the school's production
of "Grease." Bitten by the acting bug, he continued to do local children's
theater in his hometown of Cheshire, Conn. He was still focused on acting
at age 16, so his mother agreed one summer to travel the three hours each
way to New York City in order for him to pursue acting professionally.
While he landed an agent and a manager on their very first visit, he didn't
find much success auditioning for commercials. The next year, he was cast
in the Off-Broadway play, "Finding the Sun," which was written and directed
by Edward Albee. He describes this as the defining experience for him as
an actor, and commuted six hours every day during the limited three-month
run for rehearsals and performances in the middle of high school. After
that experience, he starred in "Shenandoah" at the Goodspeed Opera House.
His first on-screen performance came with a starring role in the 1995 feature
film "Angus," and he is featured in the upcoming release "I Love You...I
Love You Not" with Claire Danes. Last summer, he completed the independent
feature film "Harvest." A dean's list student, Van Der Beek received an
academic scholarship from Drew University in Madison, N.J., where he majors
in English with a minor in sociology. In what little free time he has,
he enjoys writing and playing all kinds of sports.