:3.
hat is lhis'.’ Huttwtt's ('I‘t't'k Day at lltc
Dnrchester'.’ l'm nn my way tip tn the
third llnnr In meet .lames \an der Beck. star nl the lnng-running .-\mcrican TV series. In discuss his new lllIII. '/‘/l(' Nil/(W u/ .lll/‘ttt’llnlt. III which he play s a decadent drug dealer. and I lind that I‘m sharing the lilt with Dawsnn‘s childhnnd sweetheart. .lncy l’ntlcr. .lncy. real name Katie llnlmes. is busy sucking lace with her real me beau. actnr ('hris Klein. sn I dnn't interrupt tn pnint nut the envy cnincidence. It's the first thing I say In \an der Beck. thnugh. as | greet him in his hntel suite.
'()ll. l\ she here." he replies. lnlttlly nltll\intl\. Initially. I‘m surprised that twn actnrs whn haye spent nine mnnths ey ery year l'nr the past the years wnrking tngether dnn't knnw they're bnth staying in the same l.nndnn hntel. Thinking abnut it. ynu realise its precisely because they'ye spent all that titne wnrking tngether. that they want In get nn with things nn this particular day he with his wnrk and her with her lny'elile and pt'nye In the wnrld and In themsely es. that tlIc'I'c"s lil‘e nutsidenll)un1snn's ('rt't'ls.
Bnrn in ('heshire. ('nnnecticut. In years agn. 'the Beck as Rules Ulsllll'tlt'llttll directnr Rnger .«\\ary all'ectinnately calls him was lirst bitteti by the acting bug at the age (it I3 when he landed the part nl' Danny Zukn in his schnnl prndttctinn nl' (imtst: ‘\\'hen I did my lirst play. I In\ ed it.’ he says with mist) nnstalgia. ‘II was like being part nl a team except there was nnbndy nut In try and make ynu lnse it was the greatest leeling.’
By l‘)‘)7. hnweyer. alter dning a l‘ew nll-Brnadway shnws and twn minnr lilm rnles. inclttding / I.Ul'(' y'ntt. I l.()l'(' y'utt Nu! with ('laire Danes. Van Der Beck's acting career had hit an impasse. And then came the call lrnm Dawson‘s ('rt't'k and the rnlc that would take nyer his lil‘e l'nr the next few years.
‘lt ended up being much bigger than we ever thought It would be.' says the ynung actnr nl' exceptinnally large l‘nrehead whn’s made his name playing dithering nice guy Dawsnn Leary. Many have lnng since tired til the pseudn-intellectualising nl~ his sncial circle in the set'ies and the apparently never-ending ‘will they/wnn‘t they get back tngether' plntline between Dawson and Jney. Nnt least Van der Beek himsell'. ‘Dawsnn‘s like a little brnther at this pnint.‘ he says. ‘Ynu kind nt‘ lny'e him uncnnditinnally bttt sometimes you just want In shake him. But that’s the nature nl' TV. Inn. I mean. it he was a really et'l‘ectiye. industrinus character whn actually did snmething about what he wanted. it would be a Very shnit series. Sn his character is pan of the cnnstruct nt‘ the shnw.‘
'l'hankl‘ully' that ennstruct will reach its cnnclusinn later this year when lilming’s cnmpleted nn the sixth and linal series. And it's not bel'nre time l‘nr Van der Beek whn’s been typecast as a nice guy. tied t'nr Inn lnng tn t'ilming lnr three-quarters til the year in Wilmingtnn. .\'ntth (‘arnlina and lrustrated in his tilm rnles. During the liye-year nut. he's t'nund it hard In tind lilm directnrs willing tn work with his TV image and around his shnnting schedule. ()ppnrtunity knncked in WOO. with his rule as rebellinus t’nntball star Jnnathnn Mnxtnn in litrsity' Blues -~ a part he wnn an MTV Breakthrough Perl‘nrmance Award l'nr — bttt l'nr the next two years. it was the schnnl nt‘ hard knneks for Van der Beek.
Desperate tn subyert his squeaky-clean image. he
IMAGE'
jumped at the chance nt’ playing a bisexual in 'l'ndd
Snlnndl's .S'Imjy'tt'lli‘ng and was released lrnm the set (It. Drttt‘xmt'x (‘I‘t't’k‘ l'nt‘ six days .s’ltnnllng that
'THERE WAS
A LOT OF RESISTANCE TO MY DOING THIS, BECAUSE OF THE TV
Included a cnntrnyersial gay sex scene. llts part ended tip nn the cutting rnnm llnnr. hnw e\ er. and his next tiliii It tm litmus. In which he tnnk a starring rnle. didn‘t cyen get a release. "l‘hnse things happened back-tn—back Inn. sn it was really tnttgh.‘ he say s. 'l’enple started saying: ",-\h. he must be really bad." yntt kttnw. sn it was nice tn lIIIally get an nppnrtunity with lx’u/ts ('/.llll'tlt’/1HII..
.-\nd what an nppnrtuntty ll is. Playing the diametric nppnsite tn cuddly. cttte Dawsnn. Van Der Beck stars as ‘emntinnal \ampire' Sean Bateman tbrnthcr nl l’atrick Batetnan. the main character In .llllt'l'lt an l’nt hut in the Iilm adaptatinn nt Bret lzastnn lullis' gritty sncial satire. ‘('rikey 7‘ will be the cnmmnn reactinn In a rnle that requires lmn In drink. smnke. ttsc Inttl language. take and deal drugs. sung a man and indulge in gratuitnus. meaningless se\. .\I last? l'nsurprisingly. Van Der Beck 'had a great time' making the lilm and was n\erinyed at being "tree lrnm the bnnds nl' hay ing tn be likeable‘.
(‘nnlident that he cnuld make the lump lrnm nice gtty tn bad bny. he had little trnttble persuading indie dit'cctnr Rnger .r\\ary tcn attthnr nl' I’ll/[t I'lt'lin/II that he cnuld dn justice In the rnle: ‘.v\t lirst he raised an ey ebrnw. but he said alter meeting me he was cnmittccd that l cnuld dn it. .»\nd then catne the task nl'cnny incing eyery bndy else that l cnuld dn it. which was nn easy l'eat. 'l‘he prnducers. mnney penple. nther penple's agents and managers inynlyed had In unity the decisinn. 'l‘here was a lnt nl l‘L‘\l\l;IIlc‘L‘ In my bccattsc nl the ’l‘\' image and alsn I think just because nl er . . . |lnng pausel nn. snrry. that was It.‘
.'\|thnugh the lilm has eniny ed nnly a limited success in the States. the l-L‘L‘tll‘ilk'ls nll \itttl tlct‘ Beck‘s perl'nrmance has been MW“) l‘nsitiyc. ‘lirnm what l'ye heard penple really appreciate the dillcrence ttlttl appreciate that l was able tn pull it nl'l'.‘ he enthuses. adding that perhaps the ultimate praise catne lrnm Bret liastnn lillis himsell. w hn cnngrattilated the actnr in a letter that apparently gaye him gnnsebttmps when he read it. The nnly discernible dnwnside tn Van der Beek cnurting cnntrtw‘ersial rnles with cnnl. indie directnrs is that he‘s had In cnntend with rumnurs nl' being gay.
lle’s nnt: he‘s engaged tn actnr lleather .\lc('nmb and in apprnximately eight mnnths. when they at last call time nn the 'l'\' shnw. he plans In marry his girl. make mnre lilms and cnntinuc In prnyc that there is a We nutside nl' lhnrsnn '\ ('rt't'lt. alter all.
L‘\ L‘l'y UllL' c‘lu‘
tlnittg this.
The Rules of Attraction is on general release from Fri 28 Mar. See review. Catherine
Bromley travelled to London courtesy of GNER. GNER operates 44 high-speed train services between Edinburgh and London each day, with return fares starting at £36. Contact 08457 225 225 or visit www.gner.co.uk
NOVEL APPROACH
The Rules of Attraction is the latest in a long line of cult books transferring onto the big screen. But have you ever wondered about the tomes that the movie moguls have so far overlooked?
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