EXCLUSIVE !!!!

 

CASPER VAN DIEN

 

Born on December 18, 1968 in Milton, Florida, USA, Casper Van Dien could be seen in a 1989 in a sailing video for ASA and TV commercials for both Jumping Jack Cheese Dorritos chips and Midway Airlines.

 

He could be seen in 1990 in a TV commercial for Nintendo Games and a number of his works appeared as a poet. In 1995, Casper worked on the video game Wing Commander 4: The Price of Freedom and had a role in the TV movie ‘P.C.H.’. Between 1996 and 1999 he played lead roles in the films ‘James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young’, ‘Starship Troopers’, ‘Tarzan and the Lost City’, ‘The Omega Code’ en ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and the TV movies ‘Night Eyes Four: Fatal Passion’, ‘Beastmaster 3: The Eye of Braxus’, ‘The Colony’, ‘Lethal Orbit’, ‘Backroads to Vegas’, ‘NightScream’, ‘On the Border’, ‘Shark Attack’, ‘The Collectors’, ‘The Time Shifters’ and ‘Modern Vampires’. By the last one he was also involved as an co-executive producer.

 

Between 2000 and 2004 Casper starred in the films ‘Sanctimony’, ‘Going Back’ and ‘Dracula 3000’, the TV movies ‘Partners’, ‘Python’, ‘A Friday Night Date’, ‘Cutaway’, ‘Chasing Destiny’,‘The Tracker’, ‘Danger Beneath the Sea’, ‘The Vector File’, ‘Windfall’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Skeleton Man’ and ‘Maiden Voyage’ and the TV series “Titans”. In 2005 he played lead roles in the TV movies ‘Personal Effects’, ‘The Fallen Ones’, ‘Officer Down’ and ‘Premonition’, could be seen in his own reality series “I Married a Princess” which he also produced and he voiced the video game Starship Troopers. Between 2006 and 2011, Casper played lead roles in the films ‘Starship Troopers 3: Marauders’ and ‘Born to Ride’, the TV films ‘Meltdown: Days of Destruction’, ‘The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb’, ‘Slayer’, ‘Aces ‘N’ Eights’, ‘Mask of the Ninja’, ‘One Hot Summer’ and ‘Turbulent Skies’ and the TV series “Watch Over Me”. In 2012 he played lead roles in the TV movies ‘Lake Effects’, ‘Fugitive at 17’, ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ and ‘Christmas Twister’ and the films ‘The Pact’, ‘Shiver’ and ‘Noobz’. By the last project he was also involved as a co-producer. He was also executive producer on the animated film ‘Starship Troopers: Invasion’. Between 2013 and 2017, Casper starred in the films ‘500 MPH Storm’, ‘Avengers Grimm’, ‘Fire Twister’, ‘Sharktopus vs, Whalewolf’, ‘Higher Mission’, ‘Showdown in Manila’, ‘Beyond the Game’, ‘ISRA 88’, ‘Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine’ and ‘The Conway Curve’. He has starred and produced the films ‘Leap’ and ‘All About the Money’, co-produced the film ‘Assumed Killer’ and was co-executive producer at the film ‘June’, in which he also played a lead role. He als played lead roles in the films ‘Patient Killer’, ‘Storage Locker 181’ and ‘Sleeping Beauty’. He also directed these films and wrote the last one as well. He also had lead roles in the TV movie ‘The Twelve Trees of Christmas’ and the second season of the TV series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” and voiced the animated movie ‘Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars’. He was also involved in this animation film as an executive producer. In 2018, he played lead roles in the films ‘Darkness Reigns’, ‘Alpha Wolf’ and ‘Last Seen in Idaho’. By the last project he was also involved as a co-producer. He also voiced the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Between 2019 and 2020, Casper starred in the films ‘Alita: Battle Angel’, ‘Chokehold’, ‘Dead Water’, ‘Madness in the Method’, ‘Acquitted by Faith’, ‘The Warrant’, ‘Roped’, ‘Lady Driver’, ‘G-Loc’ and ‘The 2nd’. He also had roles in the films ‘Casper: A Spirited Beginning’, ‘Casper Meets Wendy’, ‘Hollywood Flies’ and ‘Oracle: Go Blind’, the TV movies ‘Menu for Murder’ and ‘The Dog Who Saved Christmas’, the miniseries ‘Crunch Time’ and the documentary ‘What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?’. In 2009 Casper won a Hall of Fame at the Phoenix International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival, while in 2015 at the St. Tropez International Film Festival he won a Festival Prize in the category 'Best Lead Actor for his role in the short film ‘Grit’. He could be seen in the short tv-movies ‘Malibu Days’, ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Sequels’, ‘Zero Day’, ‘Beyond the Wave’, ‘Deadpool The Musical 2: Ultimate Disney Parody’ and ‘Through the Air to Calais or the Wonderful Cruise of Blanchard’s Balloon’. By the last project Casper was also involved as an executive producer. He had guest roles in TV series such as “Dangerous Women”, “Saved by the Bell”, “Freshman Dorm”, “Life Goes On”, “One Live to Live”, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”, “Beverly Hills 90210”, “Silk Stalkings”, “Married with Children”, “The Outer Limits”, “Rock Me, Baby”, “Monk”, “Femme Fatales”, “Con Man”, “Interns of F.I.E.L.D.”, “Hawaii Five-O” and “All American”. Perry from Moov.nl talked to Casper Van Dien because of an interview for the internet site.

 

001.You act in tv-series (“Titans” from 2000), films (‘Sleepy Hollow’ from 1999), doing voicework (‘Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars’ from

       2017), are writer (‘Sleeping Beauty’ from 2014), producer (‘All About the Money’ from 2017), director (‘Patient Killer’ from 2014) and are

       doing commercials (Nintendo Games from 1990). If you have to make a choice from all your activities that you like the most, what would

       this be?

       Movies such as ‘Starship Troopers’, that touch people are my favorite to do. I've done some theater in the past. I would definitely like to play more

       roles in the theater.

002.You sometimes hear that every character that an actor or actress plays, contains something of itself. Can you mention both an agreement

       and a big difference in character trait between yourself and Johnny Rico from ‘Starship Troopers’ of 1997?

       If I can't find myself in a character, then I won't take the part. I think it's important to have commonalities with the character to bring it to life as fully as

       possible. We all dream of being the hero. I read the story of Starship Troopers when I was a young boy and the chance to play Johnny Rico was such

       an honor. He loves his family and wants to make them proud. He isn’t good at math. Sometimes he makes bad choices because of women. I

       recognize those things. Especially when I was younger. The big difference with Rico is that he didn’t hesitate to join the mobile infantry. I myself went

       to military school and come from a very military family. My biggest regret in life is that I did not serve. I have the greatest respect for our soldiers. Rico

       could certainly belong to my own circle of friends. It is someone who gives everything and he is an inspiration.

003.At what point in your career are you so far most proud and/or do you keep the best memories?

       The movie ‘Starship Troopers’ from 1997 will always be the role that matters most to me. It continues to be meaningful almost on a daily basis as our

       brave service men tell me that it meant so much to them. It was the reason why some people made the final decision to enlist. This is amazing. Every

       actor dreams of making a film that touches people and means something special to them. Again, it was just such an honor. For me it's all about the

       fans. The movie ‘Starship Troopers’ was not a hit with the press when it came out and it was not the hit they hoped it would be. But the cult following

       raised the film up. The fans elevated the project and saw the genius of writer Ed Neumeier and director Paul Verhoeven. What an honor to have

       worked with them and to call them my friends.

004.Over the years you have worked with a lot of Hollywood stars. However, who impressed you the most?

       The most impressed person I have worked with so far was Ernest Borgnine who passed away in July 2012 at the age of 95. Together we worked on

       the TV movie ‘Aces ‘N’ Eights’ from 2008. I myself played the part of Luke Rivers and Ernst played the part of Thurmond Prescott. Ernst was there for

       everything. He wanted to support his fellow cast. After the wrap, he continued to recite his lyrics off-camera for co-stars who were still working. At the

       time of filming he had the age of 91, but he even did a pretty tough stunt. Ernest was kind and shared stories of the good old days. He was one of a

       kind. I wouldn't betray even the biggest bastards by naming names. But I recently worked with a disappointing producer. He made people

       uncomfortable and was rude to the people who worked for him. That’s not good. Every person matters. And of course there are many people I admire

       in the business. I've always admired Clint Eastwood. It would be great to work with him.

005.The films ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Patient Killer’ from 2014 and ‘Storage Locker 181’ from 2016. Besides playing the lead role in this, you

       also directed them. Is it more difficult to direct a film and also play a leading role in it?

       It was a lot of fun for me. I would like to direct more, whether I have a role in front of the camera or not. I just love making movies and bringing it to life

       on set. My daughter Grace also appeared in the movies ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Storage Locker 181’. Also, we have worked together on the films ‘Fire

       Twister’, ‘Leap’, ‘Lady Driver’ and the TV movie ‘Christmas Twister’. It's a lot of fun working with the people you love. For example, I worked with my

       wife Jennifer on the films ‘Sharktopus vs. Whalewof’, ‘Darkness Reigns’, ‘Alpha Wolf’ and ‘The 2^nd. In the upcoming movie ‘Aaah! Roach!’ Grace

       plays the lead role. As Officer Tom Johnson, I also play her father in the film, while Jennifer in the film plays the role of Professor D. It will be the first

       film of the three of us.

006.What can we expect from you in the future in showbiz?

       From Thursday, October 1, 2020, I can be seen in American cinemas as Headmaster Kingsley in the movie ‘One Nation Under God’. If all goes well,

       the new TV series “Stripped” will be released in 2020 in which I play the lead role of Chris Cameron. From January 2021 could in America be seen

       the third season of the TV series “All American” in which I return as Harold Adams. In the movie ‘Shooting Paul’ I play the role of Ben. I also play the

       part of Ben in the movie ‘Serena’s Game’. In the TV series “Salvage Marines” I play the role of Samuel Hyst. I play the role of Rick The Republican in

       the movie ‘Real Talk’. In the movie ‘Daughter’ I play the role of Father. I also play the role of Officer Tom Johnson in the movie ‘Aaah! Roach!’.

 

Photographer: Bjoern Kommerell

 

Interview: Perry Krootjes