Who is Casper Van Dien? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Casper Robert Van Dien Jr.

Age: 55 Years, 55 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Carrie Mitchum (m. 1993–1997), Catherine Oxenberg (m. 1999–2015)

father: Casper Robert Van Dien Sr

mother: Diane (née Morrow)

children: Cappy Van Dien, Celeste Van Dien, Grace Van Dien, Maya Van Dien

Born Country: United States

Actors American Men

Height: 5'10" (178 cm), 5'10" Males

Ancestry: Swedish American, Dutch American, British American, French American

Notable Alumni: Admiral Farragut Academy

U.S. State: Florida

More Facts

education: Florida State University, Admiral Farragut Academy

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Childhood & Early Life

Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. was born on December 18, 1968, in Milton, Florida, US to U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot Casper Robert Van Dien Sr. and his wife and nursery school teacher, Diane (née Morrow).

He hails from the eminent Van Dien's family, which had a long military tradition. His grandfather was a Marine during the Second World War. Van Dien Avenue, the street in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where he grew up, was named after his great-great-great-grandfather.

After his family relocated to Florida, Casper attended the Admiral Farragut Academy at the St. Petersburg campus and graduated 3rd in command. The good looking Casper would often be referred as "Ken doll" much to his annoyance, while he was in the Florida prep school. Later, some writers even called him a "perfect life-sized Ken doll”. Following his high school education, Casper attended ‘Florida State University’ in Tallahassee. He was a ‘Sigma Alpha Epsilon’ fraternity member in the university.

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Career

Casper relocated to Los Angeles and worked in modelling and advertising projects from where he got noticed by film directors. He did several trivial roles in films and television before getting a couple of breaks. These included the recurring roles of ‘Tyler "Ty" Moody’ in the daytime soap opera ‘One Life to Live’ (1993–1994) and ‘Griffin Stone’ in the teen-drama television series ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ (1994). He also did a small part in the video game ‘Wing Commander IV’ in 1996.

He essayed the role of ‘King Tal’ in the 1996 sequel of the 1982 sword and sorcery film ‘The Beastmaster.’ This was followed by a starring role in the 1997 biopic of James Dean ‘James Dean: Race with Destiny.’ His real breakthrough came that year when he portrayed a young soldier ‘Johnny Rico’ in the Oscar nominated military sci-fi satire action film ‘Starship Troopers,’ directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film achieved significant success.

Casper’s solid performance in ‘Starship Troopers’ helped him get the lead role of ‘Tarzan’ in the 1998 American action-adventure film ‘Tarzan and the Lost City.’ The following year he starred with his newly wedded wife, Catherine Oxenberg, in the religious-thriller film ‘The Omega Code.’

He played the supporting role of ‘Brom Van Brunt’ in the Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci starrer and Oscar winning 1999 horror film ‘Sleepy Hollow.’ Directed by Tim Burton, the film was loosely based on ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’ by Washington Irving.

Casper performed as ‘Patrick Bateman’ in the 2002 black-comedy-drama film ‘The Rules of Attraction,’ but his scenes were deleted from the film’s final version.

Meanwhile, he featured in several television films, including the 2000 action film ‘Cutaway.’ His next notable television series was ‘Titans’ (2000-2001), where he starred as ‘Chandler Williams.’

He, along with Catherine, played the negative roles of Andre Forester and Leandra Thames respectively in the series ‘Watch Over Me’ (2006–2007).

He reprised the role of Rico in the 2008 military sci-fi film ‘Starship Troopers 3: Marauder.’

He lent his voice to the character ‘Rico’ in the 2005 video game ‘Starship Troopers’ and the 2017 Japanese-American computer-animated military sci-fi film, ‘Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars,’ where he also contributed as executive producer.

Casper also appeared in web series ‘Mortal Kombat: Legacy’ (2013), ‘Crunch Time’ (2016), and ‘Deadpool The Musical 2 - Ultimate Disney Parody!’ (2018).

Family & Personal Life

Casper was married to actress Carrie Mitchum, granddaughter of Robert Mitchum, from 1993 to 1997. He has two children with her, Casper Robert Mitchum Van Dien and Caroline Grace Van Dien, both actors.

Casper met Catherine Oxenberg while shooting for the television film ‘The Collectors,’ in 1999. They married on May 8, 1999, at Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. They have two daughters together. The couple featured in their own reality series, ‘I Married a Princess’ (2005). They are celebrity ambassadors of ‘Childhelp’. Casper and Catherine divorced in 2015.

On June 9, 2018, Casper married actress, writer, and producer Jennifer Wenger.

Casper Van Dien Biography