Casper Van Dien | |
---|---|
Born | Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. December 18, 1968 Milton, Florida, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1984–present |
Spouses | Carrie Mitchum (m. 1993;div. 1997)Jennifer Wenger (m. 2018) |
Children | 4, including Grace Van Dien |
Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor, 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.
Van Dien was born 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 returned 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 ]
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]
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] Van Dien and Oxenberg were celebrity ambassadors for the non-profit organization Childhelp. [12]
Van Dien married Jennifer Wenger in June 2018. [13]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
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 Hunk | Direct-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 Helsing | Direct-to-video |
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 | John Jeffries | Short film, also executive producer |
2011 | Born to Ride | Mike Callahan | |
2012 | Shiver | Sebastian Delgado | |
Malibu Days | Short film | ||
The Pact | Bill Creek | ||
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Sequels | James K. Polk | Short film | |
noobz | Himself | Also co-producer | |
Christmas Twister | Ethan | ||
Starship Troopers: Invasion | — | Direct-to-video, executive producer | |
2013 | 500 MPH Storm | Nathan Sims | |
Assumed Killer | Sam Morrow | Also co-producer | |
Higher Mission | John Perryman | ||
2014 | Sleeping Beauty | King David | Direct-to-video, also director |
2015 | Avengers Grimm | Rumpelstiltskin | Direct-to-video |
June | Dave Anderson | Also co-executive producer | |
2016 | Army Dog | Tom Holloway | Also producer |
Showdown in Manila | Charlie Benz | ||
Storage Locker 181 | Dayton | ||
Isra 88 | Harold Richards | ||
2017 | Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine | Saber Raine | |
All About the Money | Kurt Pomeroy | Also producer | |
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars | Colonel Johnny Rico (voice) | Direct-to-video, also executive producer | |
2018 | Last Seen in Idaho | Brock | Also co-producer |
Darkness Reigns | Himself | ||
Dead Water | John Livingston | ||
Deadpool The Musical 2 - Ultimate Disney Parody | Cyclops | Short fan film | |
Alpha Wolf | Jack Lupo | ||
2019 | Alita: Battle Angel | Amok | |
Madness in the Method | Tim | ||
Chokehold | Javier | ||
2020 | Acquitted by Faith | Benjamin Stills | |
The Warrant | Virgil St. Denis / The Saint | ||
The Road to Camp Miracle | Ernest Robertson | Short film | |
Roped | Robert Peterson | ||
Lady Driver | Elliot Lansing | ||
G-Loc | Decker | ||
The 2nd | Melvin "The Driver" Sampras | ||
One Nation Under God | Kingsley | ||
2021 | Real Talk | Rick the Republican | |
Shooting Paul | Ben | ||
Serena's Game | Ben | ||
2022 | A Tale of Two Guns | Abel Cruz | |
Assailant | Michael | ||
Mad Heidi | President Meili | ||
The Most Dangerous Game | Baron Von Wolf | ||
Battle of Saipan | Vic | ||
County Line: No Fear | Zed Dalton | ||
2023 | Daughter | Father | |
The Flood | |||
Monsters of California [14] | Myers |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Menu for Murder | Lifeguard | TV movie |
1991 | Saved by the Bell | Student | Uncredited; episode: "Pipe Dreams" |
Dangerous Women | Brad Morris | Recurring | |
1992 | Freshman Dorm | Zack Taylor | 5 episodes |
Life Goes On | Unknown | 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" |
Beverly Hills, 90210 | Griffin Stone | 7 episodes | |
1995 | P. C. H. | Randy | TV movie |
Silk Stalkings | Roger Barrows | Episode: "I Know What Scares You" | |
Married... with Children | Eric Waters | Episode: "Blonde and Blonder" | |
1996 | Backroads to Vegas | Adam | TV movie |
Lethal Orbit | Tom Corbett | ||
Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus | King Tal | ||
The Colony | Sawyer | ||
1997 | The Outer Limits | Jake Miller | Episode: "Heart's Desire" |
NightScream | Teddy Johnson / Ray Ordwell Jr. | TV movie | |
James Dean: Race with Destiny | James Dean | ||
1998 | Modern Vampires | Dallas | TV movie, also producer |
On the Border | Jake Barnes | TV movie | |
1999 | Shark Attack | Steven McKray | |
The Collectors | A.K. | ||
Thrill Seekers | Tom Merrick | ||
2000 | Partners | Axel | |
Python | Bart Parker | ||
Road Rage | Jim Travis | ||
Cutaway | Delmira | ||
2000–2001 | Titans | Chandler Williams | 14 episodes |
2001 | Chasing Destiny | Bobby Moritz | TV movie |
Under Heavy Fire | Captain Ramsey | ||
The Tracker | Connor Spears | ||
Danger Beneath the Sea | Miles Sheffield | ||
2002 | The Vector File | Gerry | |
2003 | Big Spender | Eddie Burton | |
Windfall | "Ace" Logan | ||
2004 | Skeleton Man | Oberron | |
Dracula 3000 | Abraham Van Helsing | ||
What the Bleep Do We Know!? | Romantic Moritz | Documentary; uncredited | |
Rock Me, Baby | Michael | Episode: "Love at First Flight" | |
2005 | I Married a Princess | Himself | Also producer |
Hollywood Flies | Zach | TV movie | |
Maiden Voyage | Kyle Considine | ||
Personal Effects | Chris Locke | ||
The Fallen Ones | Matt Fletcher | ||
Officer Down | Philip Hallows | ||
Premonition | Jack Barnes | ||
2006 | Meltdown | Tom | |
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb | Danny Freemont | ||
Slayer | "Hawk" | ||
2006–2007 | Watch Over Me | Andre Forester | 64 episodes |
2008 | Aces 'N' Eights | Luke Rivers | TV movie |
Mask of the Ninja | Jack Barrett | ||
2008, 2009 | Monk | Steven Albright | 2 episodes |
2009 | One Hot Summer | Luther Simmonds | TV movie |
2010 | Turbulent Skies | Tom | |
Laugh Track Mash-ups | James | Episode: "Coopin' with Mr. Levy" | |
The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation | Randy McGovern | TV movie | |
2012 | Lake Effects | Ash Henson | |
Fugitive at 17 | Spencer Oliphant | ||
Femme Fatales | Joe Hallenbeck | Episode: "One Man's Death" | |
Baby's First Christmas | Kyle | TV movie | |
2015 | Fire Twister | Scott | |
Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf | Ray | ||
Patient Killer | Jason | TV movie; also director | |
2017 | Hawaii Five-0 | Roger Niles | Episode: "Na La Ilio" (Dog Days) |
2018–present | All American | Harold Adams | 10 episodes |
2022–present | Salvage Marines | Samuel Hyst | |
TBA | Stripped [15] | Chris Cameron | 6 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Mortal Kombat: Legacy | Johnny Cage | 5 episodes |
2015 | Interns of F.I.E.L.D. [16] | Hawk Guy | 2 episodes |
2015–2016 | Con Man | Waiter (cameo) | 6 episodes |
2016 | Crunch Time | Casper Van Dien | 3 episodes |
2017 | Super Power Beat Down - Boba Fett vs Star-Lord | Hal Jordan / Green Lantern | Fan film |
2018 | Deadpool The Musical 2 - Ultimate Disney Parody! | Cyclops | |
2021 | Batman: Dying Is Easy | James Gordon | Fan film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom | Confed Redshirt #3 | |
2005 | Starship Troopers: The Video Game | General Johnny Rico (voice) | |
2024 | Starship Troopers: Extermination | General Johnny Rico (voice) |
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as Starship Soldier, and published as a book by G. P. Putnam's Sons on November 5, 1959.
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier, based on the 1959 novel by Robert A. Heinlein. Set in the 23rd century, the story follows teenager Johnny Rico and his comrades as they serve in the military of the United Citizen Federation, an Earth-based world government engaged in an interstellar war against an alien species known as the Arachnids. The film stars Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Muldoon, and Michael Ironside.
Catherine Oxenberg is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Amanda Carrington on the 1980s prime-time soap opera Dynasty. Oxenberg is the daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and her first husband, Howard Oxenberg (1919–2010). She twice played Diana, Princess of Wales on screen, in The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (1982) and Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992), and has appeared in many other films.
Dina Meyer is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role on the Fox teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993–94), before landing a leading role opposite Keanu Reeves in the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic.
Johnny Cage is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series depicts Cage as one of the primary heroes defending Earthrealm from various threats, as well as the comic foil. In the first rebooted timeline, Cage is also the love interest of Special Forces officer Sonya Blade and the father of their daughter Cassie. He is inspired by martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme, particularly Van Damme's character, Frank Dux, in the 1988 film Bloodsport. A staple of the franchise, Cage has appeared in various media outside of the games.
Jane Porter is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film. Jane, an American from Baltimore, Maryland, is the daughter of professor Archimedes Q. Porter. She becomes the love interest, later the wife of Tarzan and subsequently the mother of their son, Korak. She develops over the course of the series from a conventional damsel in distress, who must be rescued from various perils, to an educated, competent and capable adventuress in her own right, fully capable of defending herself and surviving on her own in the jungles of Africa.
Shark Attack is a 1999 television action thriller film by Lionsgate that first premiered on HBO directed by Bob Misiorowski and starring Casper Van Dien, Jenny McShane and Ernie Hudson. In a once tranquil African fishing village, a marine biologist searches for answers when his friend becomes a victim in a series of brutal shark attacks.
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder is a 2008 American science fiction film written and directed by Edward Neumeier and starring Casper Van Dien, who returned as Johnny Rico from the original film, along with Jolene Blalock and Boris Kodjoe. It is set between Starship Troopers (1997) and Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004), and is the third installment of the Starship Troopers film series. The film was released directly to video in the U.S. on August 5, 2008. It received generally negative reviews.
Minoru Tanaka was a Japanese actor born in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. He was a graduate of the Tokyo metropolitan Yukigaya high school, Mumeijuku and was represented by JVC Entertainment Networks at the time of his death.
Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus is a 1996 American made-for-television sword and sorcery film and a sequel to the 1982 film The Beastmaster, starring Marc Singer.
Starship Troopers: Invasion is a 2012 American-Japanese adult animated military science fiction horror film directed by Shinji Aramaki. It is the fourth installment of the Starship Troopers film series. The film was released in Japan on July 21, 2012, and in North America on August 28, 2012, as a direct-to-video title.
Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf is a television film that premiered on July 19, 2015 on Syfy.
Grace Van Dien is an American actress and social media personality. She is known for playing Brooke Osmond in the Netflix teen drama series Greenhouse Academy (2017) and Katie Campbell in NBC drama series The Village (2019). She also portrayed Sharon Tate in the Mary Harron-directed film Charlie Says (2018) and Chrissy Cunningham in Stranger Things (2022).
Tanya van Graan is a South African actress, singer and model. She is known for her roles in Zulu and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, and for being FHM's Sexiest Woman at the 2007 FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World bash held in Johannesburg.
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars is a 2017 Japanese-American adult animated military science fiction film directed by Shinji Aramaki and Masaru Matsumoto and written by Edward Neumeier. The film is a sequel to Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) and the fifth installment of the Starship Troopers film series. It also marks the return of two original actors; Casper Van Dien reprises his role as Johnny Rico from the first and third films and Dina Meyer reprises her role as Dizzy Flores from the first film.
Starship Troopers is an American military science fiction media franchise based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein and the satirical 1997 film adaptation by screenwriter Edward Neumeier and director Paul Verhoeven.
India Riven Oxenberg is an American actress and documentary film producer. A granddaughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, she is a relative of the House of Karađorđević, the former royal family of Serbia and, later, Yugoslavia. Oxenberg began her career as a child actress, with small roles in film and television projects that her mother, Catherine Oxenberg, and then-stepfather, Casper Van Dien, were involved in. As a teenager, she was a cast member of the reality television series I Married a Princess.
The 2nd is a 2020 American action film directed by Brian Skiba and starring Ryan Phillippe, Casper Van Dien, Jack Griffo, Lexi Simonsen, Randy Charach, William McNamara, Jacob Grodnik, Richard Burgi, Samaire Armstrong and William Katt. The film was released digitally and on demand on September 1, 2020.
Tyrone Keogh is a South African actor, model and assistant director. He is best known for his roles in the series 24 Hours to Live, The Girl from St. Agnes and Dominion. He was named Best Dressed Man by GQ South Africa in 2012.
Starship Troopers: Extermination is a first-person shooter video game part of the larger Starship Troopers franchise and developed and published by Offworld Industries.
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