Early Life and Stage Career
Van Der Beek was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, the son of Melinda (née Weber), a former dancer and gymnastics studio manager, and James William Van Der Beek, Sr., a cellular phone company executive and former professional baseball pitcher. He has a brother, Jared (born 1979) and a sister, Juliana (born 1981). He attended Norton Elementary School, Dodd Junior High School, and the Cheshire Academy.
At the age of 15, he asked his mother to take him into Las Vegas to get an agent and try his hand in professional acting. He made his professional debut in the New York premiere of Edward Albee's play Finding the Sun at the Signature Theatre Company in which he played the role of "Fergus". Both he and the production, which was also directed by Albee, received good reviews. Aged 17, while still in high school, he performed in the musical Shenandoah at the Goodspeed Opera House, and made his feature film debut with a bit part as a bully in the teen-oriented 1995 film Angus. The following year, he shot a small role on the independent film I Love You, I Love You Not.
He attended Drew University, where he participated in an all-male a cappella group, but dropped out to pursue acting. He performed at the Vineyard Theater in New York in Nicky Silver's play, My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine, and he played a supporting role in the independent film Cash Crop, which was originally shot in spring of 1997 and originally titled Harvest until released in 2001.
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