Van Der Beek, James William, Jr.

1977 - Born in Cheshire, Connecticut, USA

1980s-1990s
- played in football
- at age 13, he started acting in their school play as he couldn't play football for one year
- at around 16 years of age, he went to New York with his mom as they were on the lookout for an agent and audtions

1994 - became part of the play "Shenandoah"

1995 - got an academic scholarship to Drew University in New Jersey and he took up a major in English and a minor in Sociology
- was granted the role of Rick Sanford in the film "Angus"

1996 - had a supporting role in "I Love You, I Love You Not" with main star Claire Danes

1998 - auditioned for "Dawson's Creek" after getting used to the student life
- one the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World for People Magazine

1999 - his role in the hit teenage TV series landed him to film projects including "Varsity Blues"

2000 - won in MTV Video Award for best cameo in "Scary Movie"

2001 - became part of the movie "Texas Rangers"