Casper Van Dien's polished, upright screen presence suits the soldier better than the romantic lead. We like what Paul Verhoeven does with it in Starship Troopers, though its romantic scenes ask for more than he supplies.
Fi1m perspective
In Starship Troopers (1997), Casper Van Dien's Johnny D. Rico looks like someone a recruitment advertisement would be pleased to find. He has the polished appeal the film needs, and little about him suggests a habit of questioning the society around him. Paul Verhoeven makes that unquestioning confidence useful, while Van Dien's physical commitment helps the military action. We like him in the part, with considerable reservations about the romantic acting.
That breakthrough led to the title role in Tarzan and the Lost City (1998) and a supporting part as Brom Van Brunt in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999). The career then settled largely into direct-to-video films, television and voice work, with action, science fiction and military parts recurring. Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) brought him back as Rico, a character he has also reprised in animation and games. The persistence of that casting makes sense: the upright screen hero remains the clearest use of his particular appeal.
The qualification is there in his scenes with Denise Richards's Carmen Ibañez: both have the right appearance, but neither makes the romance sufficiently involving. Their stiffness matters when the film asks us to take an interest in their private lives. It would be too generous to excuse every awkward exchange as part of the satire, especially when the relationships occupy so much time. Van Dien is convincing as the young man the publicity needs; he is less convincing as the young man whose feelings we are meant to share.
We laughed at the mock military advertisements, then felt uncomfortable about our enthusiasm for the battles, because the fighting made the invitation to enlist so appealing. That response helps explain why Rico remains the part to return to: Van Dien makes it easy to see the attraction of the soldier being advertised. Verhoeven understands what to do with that attraction without relying on the actor to explain it. Start with Starship Troopers, with some patience reserved for the teenage romance.
Biography
Casper Van Dien is an American actor. He was born on 18 December 1968 in Milton, Florida.
Van Dien is best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in the science-fiction film Starship Troopers (1997). Other credits include Sleepy Hollow (1999) as Brom Van Brunt and Tarzan and the Lost City (1998) as Tarzan. He has appeared in television series such as Beverly Hills, 90210 and Monk, and reprised the role of Rico in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008).
Van Dien has also worked as a director, helming films including Patient Killer (2015), in which he starred.
