Casper Van Dien Biography

Casper Robert Van Dien, Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor.

Early life

Van Dien was born and grew up in 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. 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, English, and Native American.

The street on which Van Dien grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Van Dien Avenue, was named after his great great grandfather. In high school, Van Dien was often referred to as "Ken doll" due to his good looks, and got into many fights for that reason. Later he was described as a "perfect life-sized Ken doll." 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. Next, he went to Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.

Career

Moving to Los Angeles, Van Dien landed a number of small parts in various television series and movies. Two early breaks were recurring roles 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.

Van Dien 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. This directly led to his being cast as Tarzan in Tarzan and the Lost City (1998). 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, the character that Christian Bale had played in 2000's American Psycho. However, the scenes wound up on the cutting room floor.

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 will be replacing Matt Mullins as the new Johnny Cage for the second season of the YouTube webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

Personal life

Van Dien was married to Carrie Mitchum (granddaughter of Robert Mitchum) from 1993 to 1997. They have two children, Casper "Cappy" Robert Van Dien III and Caroline Dorothy Grace "Gracie" Van Dien, of whom Van Dien holds full custody. Van Dien had co-starred with Robert Mitchum in James Dean: Race with Destiny.

Van Dien met actress Catherine Oxenberg, who is 7 years his senior, during the filming of the 1999 TV movie The Collectors, and they soon worked together again in the 1999 thriller The Omega Code. On May 8, 1999 they married 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, 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.

Van Dien and Oxenberg have two daughters, Maya (born September 20, 2001) and Celeste Alma (born October 3, 2003). Oxenberg and Van Dien are celebrity ambassadors for the non-profit organization Childhelp.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Revenge of the Nerds	ROTC Javelin Thrower (uncredited)
1997	Casper: A Spirited Beginning	Bystander	Video
1997	Starship Troopers	Johnny Rico
1998	Tarzan and the Lost City	Tarzan
1998	Casper Meets Wendy	Crewcut Hunk	Video
1999	'	Gillen Lane
1999	Sleepy Hollow	Brom Van Brunt
2000	Sanctimony	Tom Gerrick
2008	Starship Troopers 3: Marauder	Colonel Johnny Rico
2009	Through the Air to Calais or the Wonderful Cruise of Blanchard's Balloon	Dr. John Jeffries	Short film
2011	Shiver	Det. Sebastian Delgado
2011	Born to Ride	Mike Callahan
2012	Malibu Days		Short film
2012	'	Bill Creek
2012	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Sequels	James K. Polk	Short film
2012	noobz	Casper Van Dien	Completed
2012	Christmas Twister	Ethan	Post-production
2013	Mucho Dinero	Kurt	Post-production
2013	Assumed Memories	Sam Morrow	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Menu for Murder	Life Guard	TV movie
1991	Saved by the Bell	Student (uncredited)	Episode: "Pipe Dreams"
1991	Dangerous Women	Brad Morris	1 episode
1992	Freshman Dorm	Zack Taylor	5 episodes
1992	Life Goes On		Episode: "Udder Madness"
1993-1994	One Life to Live	Tyler 'Ty' Moody	TV series
1994	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Jesse	Episode: "Cattle Drive: Part 1" Episode: "Cattle Drive: Part 2"
1994	Beverly Hills, 90210	Griffin Stone	7 episodes
1995	P.C.H.	Randy	TV movie
1995	Silk Stalkings	Roger Barrows	Episode: "I Know What Scares You"
1995	Married with Children	Eric Waters	Episode: "Blonde and Blonder"
1996	Backroads to Vegas	Adam	TV movie
1996	Lethal Orbit	Tom Corbett	TV movie
1996	Night Eyes Four: Fatal Passion	Roy	TV movie
1996	Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom	Confed Redshirt #3 (voice)	Video game
1996	Beastmaster: The Eye of Braxus	King Tal	TV movie
1996	'		TV movie
1997	'	Jake Miller	Episode: "Heart's Desire"
1997	NightScream	Teddy Johnson / Ray Ordwell Jr	TV movie
1997	James Dean: Race with Destiny	James Dean	TV movie
1998	Modern Vampires	Dallas	TV movie
1998	On the Border	Jake Barnes	TV movie
1999	Shark Attack	Steven McKray	TV movie
1999	'	A.K.	TV movie
1999	Thrill Seekers	Tom Merrick	TV movie
2000	Partners	Axel	TV movie
2000	Python	Bart Parker	TV movie
2000	Road Rage	Jim Travis	TV movie
2000	Cutaway	Delmira	TV movie
2001	Chasing Destiny	Bobby Moritz	TV movie
2000-2001	Titans	Chandler Williams	14 episodes
2001	Going Back	Capt. Ramsey	TV movie
2001	'	Connor Spears	TV movie
2001	Danger Beneath the Sea	Commander Miles Sheffield	TV movie
2002	'	Gerry	TV movie
2003	Big Spender	Eddie Burton	TV movie
2003	Windfall	Ace Logan	TV movie
2004	Skeleton Man	Staff Sgt. Oberron	TV movie
2004	What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?	Romantic Moritz (uncredited)	Documentary
2004	Rock Me, Baby	Michael	Episode: "Love at First Flight"
2004	Dracula 3000	Capt. Abraham Van Helsing	TV movie
2005	Hollywood Flies	Zach	TV movie
2005	Starship Troopers	General John Rico (voice)	Video game
2005	Maiden Voyage	Kyle Considine	TV movie
2005	Personal Effects	Chris Locke	TV movie
2005	'	Matt Fletcher	TV movie
2005	Officer Down	Officer Philip Hallows	TV movie
2005	Premonition	Jack Barnes	TV movie
2006	Meltdown	Tom	TV movie
2006	'	Danny Freemont	TV movie
2006	Slayer	Hawk	TV movie
2006-2007	Watch Over Me	Andre Forester	64 episodes
2008	Aces 'N' Eights	Luke Rivers	TV movie
2008	Mask of the Ninja	Jack Barrett	TV movie
2008	Monk	Lt. Steven Albright	Episode: "Mr. Monk Is Underwater"
2009	Monk	Lt. Steven Albright	Episode: "Mr. Monk and the End: Part 1 & 2"
2009	One Hot Summer	Luther Simmonds	TV movie
2010	Turbulent Skies	Tom	TV movie
2010	Laugh Track Mash-ups	James	Episode: "Coopin' with Mr. Levy"
2010	'	Randy McGovern	TV movie
2012	Lake Effects	Ash Henson	TV movie
2012	Fugitive at 17	Spencer Oliphant	TV movie
2012	Femme Fatales		Episode: "One Man's Death"
2012	Baby's First Christmas	Kyle	TV movie, post-production
2013	Mortal Kombat: Legacy	Johnny Cage