"Dawson and I were both very impassioned at an early age," explains Van Der Beek. "Dawson is a burgeoning film maker, whose overactive imagination and idealism sometimes make him oblivious. He's prone to rejecting reality for a more romantic scenario. He's a bit of an innocent and is frequently off in his own little world, all of which I can definitely relate to."
When Van Der Beek was 16, his mother, noting his intense interest in performing, offered to support his aspirations by accompanying him on daily six-hour round trips into New York City, to test the waters. In spite of landing an agent and manager on their first trip into the city, Van Der Beek spent a year auditioning for commercials without much success.
At 17, Van Der Beek was cast in the off-Broadway play written and directed by Edward Albee, "Finding the Sun." Juggling the long commute for rehearsals and performances during the play's limited three-month run while attending high school, Van Der Beek credits the play as the defining experience for him as an actor and still managed to finish the school year second in his class.
After his off-Broadway debut, he went on to star in "Shenandoah" at the Goodspeed Opera House. His first screen performance occurred in the 1995 feature film ANGUS as an arrogant jock. Van Der Beek also appeared in the Miramax film, "I LOVE YOU...I LOVE YOU NOT with Claire Danes, and most recently in the independent feature film HARVEST.
An excellent student, Van Der Beek received an academic scholarship to attend Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where he majored in English and Sociology and made the Dean's List. He is currently on a leave of absence while shooting DAWSON'S CREEK in Wilmington, North Carolina.
