At age 16 he was so focused on his acting, his mother agreed to travel the three hours each way to New York City in order for him to pursue acting professionally during the summer. He found an agent and a manager on their first trip, he didn't find any work after auditioning for commercials.
After he turned 17, he was cast in the Off-Broadway play, "Finding the Sun." It was written and directed by Edward Albee. Van Der Beek travelled six hours every day during the three-month run for rehearsals and performances in the middle of his high school years. After that exhausting experience, he starred in "Shenandoah" which was preformed at the Goodspeed Opera House.
In 1995 Van Der Beek had a starring role on-screen in the feature film "Angus," and he is also featuresin an upcoming movie called "I Love You...I Love You Not" which also stars Claire Danes. Last summer, he completed the independent feature film "Harvest," and has just completed work on new film called "Varsity Blues", in which he plays a high school football star.
Van Der Beek, along with making the dean's list, received an academic scholarship from Drew University in Madison, N.J., where he majors in English with a minor in sociology. In the little spare time he has, he enjoys writing and playing all kinds of sports.
James Van Der Beek (Dawson Leery)
Katie Holmes (Joey Potter)
Michelle Williams (Jennifer Lindley)
Joshua Jackson (Pacey Witter)