James Van Der Beek
Character name: 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 home town 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.
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