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Casper Van Dien Profile |
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Birth Date: December 18, 1968
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Birth Place: Milton, Florida, USA
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Birth Name: Casper Robert Van Dien Jr.
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Height: 5'10"
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Biography |
Casper Van Dien (born December 18, 1968, in Milton, Florida)
is an American actor, best known for his role as Johnny Rico
in Starship Troopers.
Casper grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey. His mother is a
retired nursery school teacher, and his father a retired
U.S. Navy pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van
Dien's family. Besides his father, his grandfather was a
marine during WW II. Van Dien is a descendant of an old
Dutch family long settled in the New York area; his other
heritage includes Swedish, French, English and Native
American. When he was older, his family returned to Florida,
where he enrolled at the St. Petersburg branch of the
Admiral Farragut Military Academy, graduating 3rd in
command.
Next, he went to Florida State University in Tallahassee,
enrolling in pre-med. Looking for college electives, he
began taking theater classes. Soon acting began to
overshadow medicine, and he dropped out of FSU to pursue a
career in the field.
Moving to L.A., he landed a number of small parts in various
television series and movies. Two early breaks were
recurring roles on One Life To Live and Beverly Hills 90210.
This was followed by parts in several straight-to-video
releases, including Night Eyes 4, Beastmaster III: The Eye
of Braxus, Night Scream and, ironically, Casper: A Spirited
Beginning.
He achieved more notice as the lead in the biopic James
Dean: Race with Destiny. Soon after, he got the breakthrough
role of Johnny Rico in Paul Verhoeven's science fiction
action film Starship Troopers. This directly led to his
being cast as the "Lord of the Jungle" in Tarzan and the
Lost City [1] Soon following was the role of Brom von Brunt
in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, a reworking of the classic
Washington Irving tale.
Returning to his television roots, in 2000 he appeared in
the Aaron Spelling's short-lived NBC series Titans with
Yasmine Bleeth, John Barrowman, Perry King and Victoria
Principal.
In 2005, he produced and appeared in the reality series I
Married a Princess, about his professional and personal life
with Catherine Oxenberg, whose mother is Princess Elizabeth
of Yugoslavia.
He was married to Carrie Mitchum (the granddaughter of
Robert Mitchum) from 1993 to 1997. They had two children:
Cappy (Casper Robert Mitchum Van Dien) and Gracie. The only
time the couple worked together was near the end of their
marriage, in James Dean: Race with Destiny, which also
starred Robert Mitchum.
He dated Denise Richards for a short time, while they were
making Starship Troopers.
During the filming of The Collectors, he met Catherine
Oxenberg. They worked together again in the Christian
thriller The Omega Code. The two married in May of 1999.
Oxenberg had a daughter, India, from a previous marriage.
Van Dien and Oxenburg now have two daughters of their own,
Maya and Celeste.
In 2006, Van Dien was a guest on Larry King Live, where he
admitted that he was sexually abused by a female babysitter
at the age of eight. The abuse was a secret he kept until he
was 32. |
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Other Information |
He has encountered a number of coincidences with his name
during his life: when he was young, his family lived on Van
Dien Avenue; he played James Dean (the name Dean is a
derivative of Van Dien), Starship Troopers (1997), which he
starred in, was filmed in Casper, Wyoming; and the character
he played in Sleepy Hollow (1999) was named Van Brunt and,
apparently, the Van Brunts are distant relatives of the Van
Diens.
Dislocated his finger during a fight scene in Sleepy Hollow
(1999).
Chipped two teeth in Starship Troopers (1997) when he was on
the back of a "tanker" bug.
Given title "Sexiest Soap Star" from People Magazine.
[November 2000]
Casper grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, coincidentally on
Van Dien Ave. The street itself is named for a relative.
Daughter, Maya Van Dien, born in L.A. [20 September 2001]
Son, Cappy Van Dien (Casper Robert Mitchum Van Dien) (named
for his great grandfather, legendary actor Robert Mitchum.)
[23 September 1993]
Daughter, Celeste Van Dien, with wife Catherine Oxenberg,
born 3 October 2003
Daughter, Grace Van Dien, born Oct 15th 1996
Step-daughter, India Oxenberg, born June 7th 1991.
His son Cappy Van Dien is named Casper. Every first born son
of the family is named Casper. His son is the 7th.
He is the 20th Tarzan.
His mother is an Interfaith Minister, nurse, teacher,
sailing instructor, and has been married to Casper's father
for over 40 years. She married both of Casper's sisters to
their husbands.
He has 3 sisters. Sudi Van Dien is 2 years older and Kristin
is 2 years younger. Debbie is his half sister who is 14
years older.
Grew up living on the same block as actor Robert Sean
Leonard. They raced each other in go-carts down Bobby's
(Robert's) street.
He was a published poet at 17 years old.
He played the trumpet for 7 years. (played the bugle for
taps and reveille during boot camp for Starship Troopers)
One Grandfather, Casper Anson Van Dien, served in the Marine
Corps in WWI. The other Grandfather, William Morrow, served
in the Navy in WWII. His father (Casper R Van Dien Sr.)
served in the Navy as a Pilot.
Graduated from "Admiral Farragut Academy" as Operations
Officer (3rd in command) in 1988.
Was an extra in a couple of episodes of "Saved by the Bell"
(1989).
Mark Twain is his great great great uncle.
Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Christina Aguilera and Casper
Van Dien all born on same day, December 18th.
Kenny Johnson, Jim Morse , Pablo Espinosa and Garrett Warren
are his best friends.
Filmed some scenes as Patrick Bateman in The Rules of
Attraction (2002) that were cut from the final film. |
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