James Van Der Beek
a.k.a Dawson Leary
Fate certainly played a hand in James Van Der Beek's entrance into the acting world, but it was his dedication and talent that earned leading roles in "Dawson's Creek" and two provocative new films - "I Love You...I Love You Not" and "Harvest."
Suffering a mild concussion when he was 13 years old, the athletic Van Der Beek wasn't permitted to play on the football team that year. So, for the first time, he decided to try out for the school play and landed the lead role of Danny Zuko in the school's production of "Grease." Bitten by the acting bug, he continued to do local children's theater in his hometown of Cheshire, Conn.
He was still focused on acting at age 16, so his mother agreed one summer to travel the three hours each way to New York City in order for him to pursue acting professionally. While he landed an agent and a manager on their very first visit, he didn't find much success auditioning for commercials.
The next year, he was cast in the Off-Broadway play, "Finding the Sun," which was written and directed by Edward Albee. He describes this as the defining experience for him as an actor, and commuted six hours every day during the limited three-month run for rehearsals and performances in the middle of high school. After that experience, he starred in "Shenandoah" at the Goodspeed Opera House.
His first on-screen performance came with a starring role in the 1995 feature film "Angus," and he is featured in the upcoming release "I Love You...I Love You Not" with Claire Danes. Last summer, he completed the independent feature film "Harvest."
A dean's list student, Van Der Beek received an academic scholarship from Drew University in Madison, N.J., where he majors in English with a minor in sociology. In what little free time he has, he enjoys writing and playing all kinds of sports.