Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in the 1997 science-fiction action film ''

Starship Troopers ''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 o ...

''. He has also appeared in a large number of television and film roles, often in daytime and primetime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s, and a large number of

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s and

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

films, including '' Starship Troopers 3: Marauder'', a 2008 sequel to the original film.

Early life

Van Dien was born and raised in the

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

suburb of Milton, Florida, the son of Diane (''née'' Morrow), a

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and Casper Robert Van Dien Sr., a U.S. Navy

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

and fighter

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a Marine during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Van Dien is descended from an old Dutch family long settled in the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

area; his other heritage includes

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and English. The street on which Van Dien grew up in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, where he enrolled at the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

campus of the Admiral Farragut Academy, graduating 3rd in command. After high school, Van Dien attended Florida State University in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

, where he was a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national socia ...

fraternity.

Career

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

'' One Life to Live'' and the

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

drama ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran ...

''. Keen to expand his acting talents, Van Dien took a bit part in the video game, '' Wing Commander IV''. In 1996, Van Dien played King Tal in '' Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus'', the second sequel to the 1982 cult classic, ''

The Beastmaster ''The Beastmaster'' is a 1982 sword and sorcery film directed by Don Coscarelli and starring Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, John Amos and Rip Torn. Loosely based on the 1959 novel ''The Beast Master'' by Andre Norton, the film is about a man w ...

''. Van Dien also starred in the 1997

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudr ...

''James Dean: Race with Destiny''. Soon after, he got the breakthrough role of Johnny Rico in

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

's 1997

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

action film ''

''. His success in ''Starship Troopers'' subsequently resulted in his casting as

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

in '' Tarzan and the Lost City'' (1998). Van Dien next played Brom von Brunt in

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

's 1999 film '' Sleepy Hollow'', a reworking of the classic

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories " Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Lege ...

tale. In 2000 Van Dien appeared in '' Cutaway'' as well as

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986) ...

's short-lived

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

prime time soap ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

'' with

Yasmine Bleeth Yasmine Amanda Bleeth (born June 14, 1968) is an American actress and model. Her television roles include Caroline Holden on '' Baywatch'', Ryan Fenelli on ''Ryan's Hope'', and LeeAnn Demerest on '' One Life to Live''. Early life and career Bl ...

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in '' Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrowv ...

, Perry King and

Victoria Principal Vicki Ree Principal (born January 3, 1950),Patrick Bateman Patrick Bateman is a fictional character created by novelist Bret Easton Ellis. He is the villain protagonist and narrator of Ellis' 1991 novel ''American Psycho'' and is portrayed by Christian Bale in the American Psycho (film), 2000 film adap ...

, 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 Johnny Cage is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/ NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The seri ...

for the second season of the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

webseries '' Mortal Kombat: Legacy''. In 2020, he joined the cast of the independent film ''Daughter''. 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.

Personal life

From 1993 to 1997 Van Dien was married to Carrie Mitchum (granddaughter of

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Jo ...

). Van Dien had co-starred with Robert Mitchum in ''James Dean: Race with Destiny''. They have two children, including actress Grace Van Dien (born 1996). In 1999 Van Dien met actress

Catherine Oxenberg Catherine Oxenberg (born September 22, 1961) 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 Howard Oxe ...

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 Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. In 2005, the couple appeared in their own reality series, '' I Married a Princess'', which aired on the

Lifetime Television Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared tow ...

channel in the United States, LIVINGtv in the United Kingdom and Lifestyle You in Australia; Oxenberg's mother is

Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia ( sr, italic=yes, Jelisaveta Karađorđević / Јелисавета Карађорђевић; born 7 April 1936) is a member of the royal House of Karađorđević, a human rights activist and a former presidential ...

. During the 2006–2007 TV season, Van Dien and Oxenberg co-starred in the American drama series ''

Watch Over Me ''Watch Over Me'' is an American television series that debuted on December 6, 2006 on MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 66 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial is an adaptation of Argentine series '' Resistiré''. Dayanar ...

'' on

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

. Oxenberg had a daughter from a previous relationship, India Riven Oxenberg (born 1991). Van Dien and Oxenberg have two daughters, born 2001 and 2003. In 2015, Van Dien filed for divorce from Oxenberg. Oxenberg and Van Dien were celebrity ambassadors for the non-profit organization Childhelp. Van Dien married Jennifer Wenger in June 2018.

Filmography

Film

Television

Producer

Web

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Dien, Casper 1968 births Admiral Farragut Academy alumni American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American producers American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American people of French descent American people of Swedish descent Florida State University alumni Living people Participants in American reality television series People from Ridgewood, New Jersey People from Milton, Florida American people of Scandinavian descent 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors