Photo: REX USA/Picture Perfect.
It's not a strange sight to see teen actors mobbed by angry fans before they've even turned 18. But, Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek was both a victim and beneficiary of an earlier form of fangirl craziness. The show was (and is) an obsession to rival Twillight and its ilk, and though today he might be best known for his cry face, Van Der Beek definitely went through a pretty crazy transition way back when.
So, what is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking back on the fateful year of 1998? "I went from signing my first autograph in 1998 to, literally two weeks later, being rushed by an angry, screaming mob of teenage girls — girls getting crushed against barricades," Van Der Beek told Vulture in an interview. That, "and [me] being shoved in the back of a cop car to escape the melee."
He also notes two big changes that, we have to admit, point out just how much things have changed due to This Here Interweb. First off, "not everyone you ran into was a potential paparazzi in 1998." Yes, you would probably get photographed if you naively assumed you could do something silly as a major celeb without getting noticed. Second, "Us magazine was a respected monthly publication that actors were dying to get into." Oh, nostalgia. It hurts a bit.
He also confirms that Leonardo DiCaprio is down to earth and chill, and makes what may or may not be a pointed reference to Tom Cruise's recent comments about the similarity between being a soldier and an actor. It's all very intriguing, for a fangirl. (Vulture)