I have a gut reaction to stuff that I read. Either it's a filmmaker that I really want to work with, or it's a story that I really want to be a part of and help serve, or there's a character that I feel I can bring something unique to. That's really what it's about. I would go crazy, if I just relied on the same tricks and did the same thing, all the time. It was just be no fun, at all. I really do need to try something different, every time out, and do something that scares me, a little bit.
James Van Der BeekThat's the real joy, when somebody else comes up with something that you haven't even thought of, that's better than what you would have thought of, and you get to ride that. The joy of discovering that is what would make me want to show-run again. It's the best team sport, ever.
James Van Der BeekYou start thinking the world is a certain way and forgetting that there's another world outside of the campus boundaries that has nothing to do with what is your world at the time.
James Van Der BeekThe film business has changed and society has changed. I started acting before the internet, which is insane to say. That makes me sound so old! You evolve, and the kind of career I thought I wanted, even six or seven years ago, was completely different from the career I have now, and I couldn't be happier about it. It's been a crazy trip.
James Van Der BeekA lot of movies you do because they're fun, they make people forget about their day.
James Van Der BeekEventually, I think I may end up directing. It would have to be the project where I think that I'm the person to direct it, and I don't know that that's happened yet. I certainly haven't written it, and I don't know if I've read that script yet where I was like, "Okay, I think I'm the guy that needs to direct this."
James Van Der Beek