Biography
Casper Van Dien is an American actor best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in Paul Verhoeven’s satirical science-fiction action film Starship Troopers (1997).
As a young actor, Van Dien’s acting breaks were recurring roles as Ty Moody on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live and the prime-time drama Beverly Hills, 90210. Keen to expand his acting talents, Van Dien took a bit part in the video game, Wing Commander IV, alongside Mark Hamill, John Rhys-Davies, and Malcolm McDowell.
Van Dien’s other roles include King Tal in Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus (1996), James Dean in the biopic James Dean: Race with Destiny, Tarzan in Tarzan and the Lost City (1998), Brom Van Brunt in Tim Burton's 1999 film Sleepy Hollow, alongside Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, and Amok in Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel (2018).
On television, Van Dien appeared in Aaron Spelling's short-lived NBC prime time soap Titans with Yasmine Bleeth, John Barrowman, Perry King and Victoria Principal. Most recently, he appeared as Harold Adams in the sports drama All American, and the lead on the sci-fi series
Salvage Marines, an adaptation of the Necrospace book series.
In 2008 Van Dien returned to the role of Rico in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, a direct-to-video sequel to Starship Troopers.