Casper Van Dien

Last updated

Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien (8733547794).jpg
Van Dien in 2013
Born
Casper Robert Van Dien Jr.

(1968-12-18) December 18, 1968 (age 55)
OccupationActor
Years active1984present
Spouses
Carrie Mitchum
(m. 1993;div. 1997)
(m. 1999;div. 2015)
Jennifer Wenger
(m. 2018)
Children4, including Grace Van Dien

Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in the 1997 science-fiction action film Starship Troopers . He has also appeared in a large number of television and film roles, often in daytime and primetime soap operas, and a large number of TV movies and direct-to-video films, including Starship Troopers 3: Marauder , a 2008 sequel to the original film.

Contents

Early life

Van Dien was born and raised in the Pensacola suburb of Milton, Florida, the son of Diane (née Morrow), a nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien Sr., a U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. [1]

There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a Marine during World War II. Van Dien is descended from an old Dutch family long settled in the New York area; his other heritage includes Swedish, French, and English. [2]

The street on which Van Dien grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Van Dien Avenue, was named after his great-great-great-grandfather. [3] When Van Dien was older, his family moved to Florida, where he enrolled at the St. Petersburg campus of the Admiral Farragut Academy, graduating 3rd in command. After high school, Van Dien attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[ citation needed ]

Career

After moving to Los Angeles, Van Dien landed a number of small parts in various television series and movies. Two early breaks were recurring roles as Ty Moody on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live and the prime time drama Beverly Hills, 90210 . Keen to expand his acting talents, Van Dien took a bit part in the video game, Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom .

In 1996, Van Dien played King Tal in Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus , the second sequel to the 1982 cult classic, The Beastmaster . Van Dien also starred in the 1997 James Dean biopic James Dean: Race with Destiny. Soon after, he got the breakthrough role of Johnny Rico in Paul Verhoeven's 1997 science fiction action film Starship Troopers . His success in Starship Troopers subsequently resulted in his casting as Tarzan in Tarzan and the Lost City (1998). [4] Van Dien next played Brom von Brunt in Tim Burton's 1999 film Sleepy Hollow , a reworking of the classic Washington Irving tale.

In 2000, Van Dien appeared in Cutaway as well as Aaron Spelling's short-lived NBC prime time soap Titans with Yasmine Bleeth, John Barrowman, Perry King and Victoria Principal. He filmed several scenes as Patrick Bateman, in 2002's The Rules of Attraction . However, the scenes were unused in the final film.

In 2008, Van Dien returned to the role of Rico in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder , a direct-to-video sequel to Starship Troopers.

Van Dien replaced Matt Mullins as Johnny Cage for the second season of the YouTube webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy . [5]

In 2020, he joined the cast of the independent film Daughter. [6] In 2022, Van Dien played the role of Samual Hyst in the series Salvage Marines, where he was also credited as a producer, an adaptation of the Necrospace book series; in an interview, he favorably compared this role to that of Johnny Rico. [7]

Personal life

From 1993 to 1997, Van Dien was married to Carrie Mitchum (daughter of Christopher Mitchum and granddaughter of Robert Mitchum). Van Dien had co-starred with Robert Mitchum in James Dean: Race with Destiny. They have two children, including actress Grace Van Dien (b. 1996). [8]

In 1999, Van Dien met actress Catherine Oxenberg during the filming of the TV movie The Collectors , and they soon worked together again in the 1999 thriller The Omega Code . On May 8, 1999, they married at Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2005, the couple appeared in their own reality series, I Married a Princess , which aired on the Lifetime Television channel in the United States, [9] LIVINGtv in the United Kingdom and Lifestyle You in Australia; Oxenberg's mother is Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia. During the 2006–2007 TV season, Van Dien and Oxenberg co-starred in the American drama series Watch Over Me on MyNetworkTV. Oxenberg had a daughter from a previous relationship, India Riven Oxenberg (b. 1991). [10] Van Dien and Oxenberg have two daughters, born 2001 and 2003. In 2015, Van Dien filed for divorce from Oxenberg. [11] Oxenberg and Van Dien were celebrity ambassadors for the non-profit organization Childhelp. [12]

Van Dien married Jennifer Wenger in June 2018. [13]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996 Night Eyes 4: Fatal Passion Roy
1997 Casper: A Spirited Beginning Bystander Direct-to-video
Starship Troopers Johnny Rico
1998 Tarzan and the Lost City Tarzan / John Clayton II
Casper Meets Wendy Crewcut HunkDirect-to-video
1999 The Omega Code Gillen Lane
Sleepy Hollow Brom Van Brunt
2000 Sanctimony Tom Gerrick
2002 The Rules of Attraction Patrick Bateman Deleted scene
2004 Dracula 3000 Captain Abraham Van HelsingDirect-to-video
2008 Starship Troopers 3: Marauder Colonel Johnny RicoDirect-to-video
2009Through the Air to Calais or the Wonderful Cruise of Blanchard's BalloonJohn Jeffries Short film, also executive producer
2011Born to RideMike Callahan
2012 Shiver Sebastian Delgado
Malibu DaysShort film
The Pact Bill Creek
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Sequels James K. Polk Short film
noobz HimselfAlso co-producer
Christmas TwisterEthan
Starship Troopers: Invasion Direct-to-video, executive producer
2013500 MPH StormNathan Sims
Assumed Killer Sam MorrowAlso co-producer
Higher MissionJohn Perryman
2014Sleeping BeautyKing DavidDirect-to-video, also director
2015 Avengers Grimm Rumpelstiltskin Direct-to-video
JuneDave AndersonAlso co-executive producer
2016Army DogTom HollowayAlso producer
Showdown in Manila Charlie Benz
Storage Locker 181Dayton
Isra 88Harold Richards
2017 Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine Saber Raine
All About the Money Kurt PomeroyAlso producer
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars Colonel Johnny Rico (voice)Direct-to-video, also executive producer
2018Last Seen in IdahoBrockAlso co-producer
Darkness ReignsHimself
Dead Water John Livingston
Alpha WolfJack Lupo
2019 Alita: Battle Angel Amok
Madness in the Method Tim
ChokeholdJavier
2020Acquitted by FaithBenjamin Stills
The Warrant Virgil St. Denis / The Saint
The Road to Camp MiracleErnest RobertsonShort film
RopedRobert Peterson
Lady DriverElliot Lansing
G-LocDecker
The 2nd Melvin "The Driver" Sampras
One Nation Under GodKingsley
2021Real TalkRick the Republican
Shooting PaulBen
Serena's GameBen
2022A Tale of Two GunsAbel Cruz
Assailant Michael
Mad HeidiPresident Meili
The Most Dangerous Game Baron Von Wolf
Battle of SaipanVic
County Line: No Fear Zed Dalton
2023DaughterFather
The Flood
Monsters of California [14] Myers

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1990Menu for MurderLifeguardTV movie
1991 Saved by the Bell StudentUncredited; episode: "Pipe Dreams"
Dangerous Women Brad MorrisRecurring
1992 Freshman Dorm Zack Taylor5 episodes
Life Goes On UnknownEpisode: "Udder Madness"
1993–1994 One Life to Live Tyler "Ty" Moody TV series
1994 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman JesseEpisode: "Cattle Drive: Part 1 & 2"
Beverly Hills, 90210 Griffin Stone7 episodes
1995P. C. H.RandyTV movie
Silk Stalkings Roger BarrowsEpisode: "I Know What Scares You"
Married... with Children Eric WatersEpisode: "Blonde and Blonder"
1996Backroads to VegasAdamTV movie
Lethal OrbitTom Corbett
Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus King Tal
The Colony Sawyer
1997 The Outer Limits Jake MillerEpisode: "Heart's Desire"
NightScreamTeddy Johnson / Ray Ordwell Jr.TV movie
James Dean: Race with Destiny James Dean
1998 Modern Vampires DallasTV movie, also producer
On the BorderJake BarnesTV movie
1999 Shark Attack Steven McKray
The CollectorsA.K.
Thrill Seekers Tom Merrick
2000PartnersAxel
Python Bart Parker
Road RageJim Travis
Cutaway Delmira
2000–2001 Titans Chandler Williams14 episodes
2001Chasing DestinyBobby MoritzTV movie
Under Heavy Fire Captain Ramsey
The TrackerConnor Spears
Danger Beneath the Sea Miles Sheffield
2002The Vector FileGerry
2003Big SpenderEddie Burton
Windfall"Ace" Logan
2004 Skeleton Man Oberron
Dracula 3000 Abraham Van Helsing
What the Bleep Do We Know!? Romantic MoritzDocumentary; uncredited
Rock Me, BabyMichaelEpisode: "Love at First Flight"
2005 I Married a Princess HimselfAlso producer
Hollywood FliesZachTV movie
Maiden VoyageKyle Considine
Personal EffectsChris Locke
The Fallen Ones Matt Fletcher
Officer DownPhilip Hallows
PremonitionJack Barnes
2006MeltdownTom
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb Danny Freemont
Slayer "Hawk"
2006–2007 Watch Over Me Andre Forester64 episodes
2008 Aces 'N' Eights Luke RiversTV movie
Mask of the NinjaJack Barrett
2008, 2009 Monk Steven Albright2 episodes
2009One Hot SummerLuther SimmondsTV movie
2010Turbulent SkiesTom
Laugh Track Mash-upsJamesEpisode: "Coopin' with Mr. Levy"
The Dog Who Saved Christmas VacationRandy McGovernTV movie
2012Lake EffectsAsh Henson
Fugitive at 17Spencer Oliphant
Femme Fatales Joe HallenbeckEpisode: "One Man's Death"
Baby's First ChristmasKyleTV movie
2015 Fire Twister Scott
Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf Ray
Patient Killer JasonTV movie; also director
2017 Hawaii Five-0 Roger NilesEpisode: "Na La Ilio" (Dog Days)
2018–present All American Harold Adams10 episodes
2022–present Salvage Marines Samuel Hyst
TBAStripped [15] Chris Cameron6 episodes

Web

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Johnny Cage 5 episodes
2015Interns of F.I.E.L.D. [16] Hawk Guy2 episodes
2015–2016 Con Man Waiter (cameo)6 episodes
2016 Crunch Time Casper Van Dien3 episodes
2017Super Power Beat Down - Boba Fett vs Star-Lord Hal Jordan / Green Lantern Fan film
2018Deadpool The Musical 2 - Ultimate Disney Parody! Cyclops
2021 Batman: Dying Is Easy James Gordon Fan film

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Confed Redshirt #3
2005 Starship Troopers: The Video Game General Johnny Rico (voice)

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References

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  2. "Breaking News, Latest News and Videos". CNN. November 24, 2000. Archived from the original on April 24, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2006.
  3. "Tarzan of Tarzana", Daily News of Los Angeles , April 22, 1998. Accessed September 22, 2011. "When I was growing up in Ridgewood, NJ, we lived on Van Dien Avenue, which was named after my great-great-great grandfather."
  4. Tarzan and the Lost City official site Archived 2006-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Michael Lake, producer
  5. "Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2′ Hitting February 17th". Latino Review. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  6. Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 10, 2020). "Casper Van Dien, Ian Alexander, Vivien Ngô, Elyse Dinh And Megan Le Join Corey Deshon's Thriller 'Daughter'". Deadline. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  7. Milakovic, Hrvoje (August 13, 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: SF Legend Casper Van Dien Talks With Us About His New Show, 'Salvage Marines'!". Fiction Horizon. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  8. Kara Warner (March 8, 2019). "Starship Troopers Star Casper Van Dien Is a Proud Dad at Daughter Grace's Premiere". People.
  9. Ramin Setoodeh (July 11, 2012). "What Happened to Big-Screen Hunk Casper Van Dien?". The Daily Beast.
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  12. "Celebrity Ambassadors". ChildHelp.org. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  13. "Casper and Jenny's Wedding, Honeysuckle Hills Farm". Watson-studios.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  14. White, Peter (October 7, 2020). "Ex-Blink-182 Frontman Tom DeLonge To Make Directorial Debut With Sci-Fi Feature 'Monsters Of California'". Deadline. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  15. Stripped (Comedy, Drama), Casper Van Dien, Brooke Lewis Bellas, Frank Krueger, Louis Mandylor, No Age Limit Productions, Odyssey Motion Pictures, retrieved November 20, 2020{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. "Interns of F.I.E.L.D. (Marvel Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. Parody) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2020.