When Starship Troopers was released in 1997, it featured a loaded and attractive cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Dina Myer, and Denise Richards. It was Casper Van Dien that got a lot of attention, and the fans that loved him and that film still talk about it 16 years later. Van Dien and Myer will be at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, April 26th to 28th.

"It is a great way to connect with fans. I am a fan of movies, I always have been, and can relate to people that like them just as much as me. It is nice to connect with people that like some of the things you’ve done and see people that you are also a fan of," Van Dien told GayCalgary Magazine. "I also get to reconnect with friends and people I’ve worked with in this industry.  John Barrowman is going to be there, he played my brother in Titans. Nathan Fillion and I did One Life To Live together. That is exciting too. This con especially has lots of people that I know. Of course I love Carrie Fisher. I am sure there will be a lot of people that I am going to want to meet. There are so many people - I am a huge fan and geek when it comes to films. ...I’ve only been doing this a couple of years now and I love them. The other day I was out with Darth Maul Ray Park and Darth Vader David Prouse and a Hobbit. It is so weird to be out for dinner with people I am fans of. A lot of them are fun to be around and funny... There are people that dress up in Starship Troopers uniforms, I have seen them all over the world and they are awesome. I love that aspect."

We caught up with Van Dien on the phone from his California home to discuss some of the highlights of his career and his appearance. In addition to Starship Troopers he has appeared in numerous films and TV shows including Sleepy Hollow.

"Sleepy Hollow was phenomenal and Johnny Depp is one of the most gracious actors I have ever worked with. Christina Ricci was just wonderful and so sweet. I loved that movie, I was the only descendant of a Dutch immigrant in that film. Sleepy Hollow was off of the Dutch colonists ghost stories they would tell when they first came to America and they were handed down, I heard them growing up. When I first told my Dad I was playing Brom Van Brunt, he asked about the Van Tassels and he told me I was kissing my cousins. I loved that film I loved Tim Burton and he gave you such freedom as an actor. Everyone in that film was so talented to work with, it was definitely a gift."

Early in his career he played James Dean. His preparation for the role shows the dedication he has to acting, especially in portraying a real person.

"I was totally naked in that film too! I was 26 when I did that one and I was a younger newer actor, I loved playing him. I went and stayed with his family and talked to people he worked with, read books he read, listened to music he listened to. I watched his films, watched every episodic TV spot he did and looked at his photographs. I tried to get as much information as I could, I try and do that in every film, to do all the work and research I can to make the character believable for me. I want to feel as close as I can to the role.  One of the beauties of being an actor, is we get to explore all these things. I got to learn a lot about James Dean when I played him. For Tarzan I studied tapes of Jane Goodall so I could learn ape movement. I got an award for my portrayal of Tarzan and got the Golden Lion Award and got to meet her, which was a thrill because she was a big influence in me being Tarzan. She read the books as a kid and it inspired her to be who she is. That is what I love about this industry, you get to do the research and meet these cool people and do all that work and it comes back around. The script book I wrote all my notes in is in the James Dean museum."

Another film that has achieved a strong fanbase is Python. Unlike his co-star Robert Englund, Van Dien isn’t afraid of snakes.

"To work with Robert Englund is always a thrill. He is one of the sweetest men you will ever meet, a total gentleman. I wish I could have done more with him in that film, I only worked three days on it. Python is something I get asked about all the time, it was just fun to do something really whacky. You go out and work a couple of days with some people trying to make a film. I actually like snakes. I would be afraid of a rattlesnake, I heard one in my front yard when we moved out here and I went to get a shovel because I have kids, but by the time I got back the snake was gone. I probably would have tried to take its head off. I have never killed anything but that was my natural instinct to protect my kids."

Recently Casper was part of another full frontal nerdity project, a web series based on the game Mortal Combat in which he plays Johnny Cage.

"They wanted a D-list actor and they hired me, so what are you trying to say? I am having a great time shooting it, it was an incredible vision and the cast has been amazing. It has been great being a part of it. I asked him why I was the perfect Johnny and he would just laugh. I am not sure it is a compliment. I try to curb my profanity but one of the first tweets I got was Fucking Johnny Rico is playing fucking Johnny Cage. Fucking Awesome. People were excited. It has been fantastic and I have enjoyed being Johnny, some of my biggest roles have been as Johnnys."

Speaking of full frontal nerdity, the conversation moved to Starship Troopers and Johnny Rico. While nudity has become more common with more shows on cable, at the time of Starship Troopers release, the fact that there was a nude shower scene really got a reaction both positive and negative. Van Dien has had some interesting experiences based on that brief flash of his rear end.

"When the movie first came out my mom called me and asked how come when you go to caspervanidien.com we see your butt? Some fan had gotten the webname and put up 14 stills from that shot of my back end. I told her I didn’t own it, she said all the ladies at church are seeing that, why do they have to see it as the front page? I asked the guy to change it and he wouldn’t at first but eventually did. It gets a lot of talk, it was groundbreaking I guess to put a co-ed non-sexual shower together. We were in that shower for 11 hours all naked together. It was different I guess and is a huge thing that I am talking about 16 years later."

Spending 11 hours naked in a shower could be really fun, or a nightmare. It was just another part of the job for Van Dien.

"I love being on a set so however long we are on whatever scene it is a lot of fun for me. You have to keep up the same energy you had earlier on in the day, it is important to maintain a certain level of energy you can be consistent with. You stop and eat lunch and have breaks, some people didn’t eat that day because we were in the shower. You have to bring your A-game and the fear of being naked around people in a shower for that long, people asked if we got embarrassed. At the end it was just like whatever lets shoot this. You get so used to it you are just standing around naked not even wrapping it up. You either got really comfortable or just didn’t care anymore."

Being completely naked has risks in today’s world where someone can snap a photo and post it on the internet for the world to see.

"Supposedly there are photos from Starship Troopers and Starship Troopers 3, I was completely naked in that one too. I think there are some images, and some might be altered. I don’t sit around and check for the photos but have had people tell me they are there and some people want to show me pictures which I am not interested in seeing. Would I be more nervous about it? I just did it again in 2008 for Starship Troopers 3. I am sure I will have opportunities again. It isn’t something where I go hey yeah I am going to be naked! It is each individual role. In Starship Troopers when it came out on DVD a couple of years later a friend of mine called me and said if you freeze it just right you can see your schlong. I was like dude you’re married, our kids are friends don’t tell me you just looked at that. It was one of my straight friends calling me up to tell me you could see my johnson. I never stopped to check I just couldn’t believe that one of my friends had taken the time to freeze it and look."

There has been talk of remaking the film, something he would like to see.

"I don’t know if they will ever make it like the original, they would probably go a different direction. I am a big fan of the book so I would love to see it again. If they wanted me to be a part of it I would be, and if not I would still go and watch it. The original movie didn’t follow the book at all so maybe they would do a version closer to the book. Paul Verhoeven has a very dark perverse sense of humor and I love that. I don’t know if studios would be willing to give that freedom to another director, he had total control. They figured that if they had done the original as pg-13 it would have doubled the income opening weekend. All they needed to do to do that was cut 1:22 and Paul refused. So I don’t know if they would go the same route, but I would be excited to see the potential, it would be fun."

Van Dien and Dina Myer will be doing photos together and a panel about Starship Troopers. It is remarkable how strongly that film still resonates with fans who will be eager to meet them at the Calgary Expo.

"Every day on my twitter page I get people that tweet Starship Troopers quotes. That film has a huge fanbase and they are extraordinary with their participation with you and your career and the things you do. Dina Myer and I will be together and she is fun to do a con with. I love being able to do this with her and people love the connection between her and I in the film. It seems to have grown stronger and stronger with fans. There are young people that are fans of it, and people who saw it as kids who are in the film industry. It has this huge life in itself which has been exceptional for me.

"Dina and I were so excited to make this film, we are both pretty grateful that we have the opportunity to talk to people about it. It seems like it keeps growing, every time it airs again we will get quotes and Dina and I have a good time retweeting. I would love it if the entire cast got together and did a con. ...I love that Starship Troopers has this longevity."

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Contributor Jason Clevett |

Locale Calgary |

Person Casper Van Dien |

Topic Calgary Expo | Celebrity Interview | Comic Expo | Celebrity Video Interview | Starship Troopers |