| ~ James Van Der Beek ~ From skeeter14: Who is your favorite director? I'd love to work with Mr. Spielberg, or directors like Stanley Kubrick, Oliver Stone, Milos Forman. From fair73: What do you do in North Carolina when you're not on the set? I'm teaching myself how to play the guitar. I'll read, write, or in the case of this show, catch up on my sleep. I'll also join in whatever pickup games are going on. From smileyface1: Hey, James...boxers or briefs? Boxers. From cristabl: As a fellow English major, I think the books people read tell a lot about who they are. What's your favorite book, and what do you think that says about who you are? Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce. It's more a study in metaphor than a page-turning story, but I really identified with Stephen Dedulas. It was fascinating to watch him stumble his way to his true passion, having already discovered mine. From leah_m: What's up with Dawson and Joey? Will anything romantic happen? It's one of those really strong bonds, but neither one of them are quite sure exactly where it lies. You can't really put it into words. From cwynne: Do you feel any pressure competing with all the other young-adult shows out there? As an actor, my main responsibility is simply to show up to work on time and be prepared. I can't afford to worry about the whole ratings game. It's not my job, and I really can't do anything about it. From twink: How do you feel about all the controversy surrounding the social issues on sex in the program? I'm shocked that the show has been called controversial. The content is so mild compared with trashy talk shows that are on at 3 in the afternoon, and we deal so much more intelligently and responsibly with these issues than anyone on those shows ever does. I think our show is honest, and I'm not ashamed of anything that happens on it. From lunasola: What do you think is the most important thing for an actor or actress starting out in the business to know? That acting is the most unstable, unreliable, heart-wrenching career to choose. If you can do anything else and still find fulfillment, do it. Should you find yourself cursed with the undying passion to act, then the most important thing is to keep your eyes and ears open. Ask questions. Learn from everyone you can. The minute you stop learning, it's time to quit. How crazy has your life become because of Dawson's Creek? I have to be careful walking around airports and stuff like that. And I can't go to malls. When did you know you were really famous? It's funny, everybody talks about it like you'll know. I remember in Austin, I was in a restaurant with the cast, and it got out of hand. We had to leave, and I was really weirded out by it. It's not like I sat there and said, "Oh well, I'm really famous now." Instead, I thought, My God, I have no control over this. Any other scary "fame" moments? There was this thing I did up in Seattle for a Warner Bros. affiliate to promote the show. I had no idea 5,000 screaming teenagers would come. I didn't know what to do. I just sat there, my hands shaking, and when they started to announce me, these kids started screaming again--for five minutes! I thought, Oh my, is this for me? The security guards had to whisk me offstage, and they sent the limo off empty because people were swarming it. They took me out in a police car. But obviously, there's an upside to your Dawson's Creek success. I can't go to the mall, but I can do a picture with Jon Voight. Had I auditioned for Varsity Blues as an unknown theater actor, which is what I was before Dawson's Creek, some casting director's assistant probably would have eliminated me before I ever got a chance to show I could do it. All this stuff is 90 percent good, 10 percent bad. But you talk about the bad 10 percent for 90 percent of the time, so you sound like this whiny, "I'm so famous, I can't..." But I'll still expound on it anyway. How about working with Jon Voight? Did you have to turn up your acting a notch? Absolutely! I was scared shitless. I really made sure I came prepared. Did he give you any advice? When I was doing the movie, all the crazy stuff was happening. He gave me some really good advice. I overanalyze everything, and I was trying to wrap my mind around why I sign autographs. Jon said, "You're given the power to make people very happy by doing something very simple. You're in a position where you can give people little gifts, and that will make them very happy." Which is really exactly what it is. It's really nothing more than that. Have you heard any great rumors about yourself? Yeah, but nothing I want to repeat. There have been some really funny ones. How has fame affected your social life? The tendency is to question motivations as to why someone's talking to you. At the same time, it's a great icebreaker. Are you in a relationship? [Pauses] Yeah. |