Casper 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 film Starship Troopers.

Casper Van Dien
Van Dien in May 2012
Born
Casper Robert Van Dien Jr.

(1968-12-18) December 18, 1968
Milton, Florida, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1984–present
Spouse(s)
Carrie Mitchum
​
(
m. 1993; div. 1997)

​
(
m. 1999; div. 2015)

Jennifer Wenger
(
m. 2018)
Children4
Websitehttp://www.caspervandien.net/

Early life

Van Dien was born and raised 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.[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. While in the Florida prep school, Van Dien was often referred to as "Ken doll" due to his good looks, and got into many fights for that reason.[4] Even some writers later described him as a "perfect life-sized Ken doll."[5] After high school, Van Dien attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

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.

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).[6] 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.[7]

In 2020, he joined the cast of the independent film Daughter.[8]

Personal life

From 1993 to 1997 Van Dien was married to Carrie Mitchum (granddaughter of Robert Mitchum). They have two children, Casper Robert Mitchum Van Dien and actress Caroline Grace Van Dien. Van Dien had co-starred with Robert Mitchum in James Dean: Race with Destiny.

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[9] 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. Oxenberg had a daughter from a previous relationship, India Riven Oxenberg (born 1991). Van Dien and Oxenberg have two daughters: Maya Van Dien (born 2001) and Celeste Alma Van Dien (born 2003). In 2015, Van Dien filed for divorce from Oxenberg.[10]

Oxenberg and Van Dien were celebrity ambassadors for the non-profit organization Childhelp.[11]

Van Dien married Jennifer Wenger in June 2018.[12]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Night Eyes 4: Fatal Passion Roy
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 The Omega Code Gillen Lane
1999 Sleepy Hollow Brom Van Brunt
2000 Sanctimony Tom Gerrick
2000[13] Road Rage Jim Travis
2002 The Vector File Gerry Anderson
2002 The Rules of Attraction Patrick Bateman Scene deleted
2004 Dracula 3000 Captain Abraham Van Helsing
2006 The Curse of King Tut's Tomb Danny Freemont
2008 Starship Troopers 3: Marauder Colonel Johnny Rico Direct to video
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 The Pact Bill Creek
2012 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Sequels James K. Polk Short film
2012 noobz Casper Van Dien Completed
2012 Christmas Twister Ethan
2013 500 MPH Storm Nathan Sims
2013 Assumed Killer Sam Morrow
2013 11 Seconds Benjamin Stills
2013 Mucho Dinero Kurt
2013 Higher Mission John Perryman
2014 Sleeping Beauty Director Direct-to-video by The Asylum
2015 Avengers Grimm Rumpelstiltskin
2015 June Dave Anderson
2015 Fire Twister Scott
2015 Sharktopus VS Whalewulf[14] Ray
2016 Army Dog Tom Holloway
2016 Showdown in Manila Charlie Benz
2016 Storage Locker 181 Dayton
2016 Isra 88 (or Mission 88 or Beyond the Edge) Lt. Col. Harold Richards
2017 Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine Saber Raine
2017 All About the Money Kurt
2017 Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars Colonel Johnny Rico (voice) Also executive producer, direct to video
2018 Last Seen in Idaho Brock
2018 Darkness Reigns Himself
2018 Dead Water John
2018 Alpha Wolf Jack Lupo
2019 Alita: Battle Angel Amok
2019 Madness in the Method Tim
2019 Chokehold Javier
Daughter Father

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 & 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 Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus King Tal TV movie
1996 The Colony TV movie
1997 The Outer Limits 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 The Collectors 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 Under Heavy Fire Capt. Ramsey TV movie
2001 The Tracker Connor Spears TV movie
2001 Danger Beneath the Sea Commander Miles Sheffield TV movie
2002 The Vector File 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"
2005 Hollywood Flies Zach TV movie
2005 Maiden Voyage Kyle Considine TV movie
2005 Personal Effects Chris Locke TV movie
2005 The Fallen Ones Matt Fletcher TV movie
2005 Officer Down Officer Philip Hallows TV movie
2005 Premonition Jack Barnes TV movie
2006 Meltdown Tom TV movie
2006 The Curse of King Tut's Tomb 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 The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation 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
2015 Fire Twister Scott TV movie
2015 Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf Ray TV movie
2015 Patient Killer Jason (also as director) TV movie
2015-2016 Con Man Waiter (cameo) 6 episodes, web series, aired on TV by Syfi
2017 Hawaii Five-0 Roger Niles Episode "Na La Ilio" (Dog Days)

Web
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Johnny Cage 5 episodes
2016 Crunch Time Himself 3 episodes
2018 Deadpool The Musical 2 - Ultimate Disney Parody! Cyclops

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Confed Redshirt #3
2005 Starship Troopers General John Rico (voice)
gollark: I feel like the battery might be slightly miscalibrated.
gollark: It is not designed for white backgrounds.
gollark: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=apioform
gollark: An apioform. That's the canonical apioform image.
gollark: As a result, "King" will be subject to the following:

References
  1. "Sarasota studio brings actor Casper Van Dien home". Retrieved November 13, 2010., Sarasota Herald Trubune, November 13, 2010
  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. "Casper Van Dien is People's Sexiest Soap Star". 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009.
  5. "Casper Van Dien biography and filmography - Casper Van Dien movies". Tribute.ca.
  6. Tarzan and the Lost City official site Archived 2006-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Michael Lake, producer
  7. "Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2′ Hitting February 17th". Latino Review. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  8. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2020-03-10). "Casper Van Dien, Ian Alexander, Vivien Ngô, Elyse Dinh And Megan Le Join Corey Deshon's Thriller 'Daughter'". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  9. Ramin Setoodeh (July 11, 2012). "What Happened to Big-Screen Hunk Casper Van Dien?". The Daily Beast.
  10. Casper Van Dien – I'm Divorcing Catherine Oxenberg, TMZ, 25 September 2015, retrieved 3 January 2016
  11. Celebrity Ambassadors - ChildHelp.org Archived 2008-05-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  12. "Casper and Jenny's Wedding, Honeysuckle Hills Farm". www.watson-studios.com. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
  13. "Road Rage (TV Movie 2000)" – via www.imdb.com.
  14. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3292154/
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