James Van Der Beek on Pose: ‘I become emotional talking about it’

JAMES Van Der Beek opens up about what it felt like to be involved on his latest project.

JAMES Van Der Beek will never be able shake off his most iconic role as Dawson Leery but his latest performance should go some ways.

As a quintessential rich ’80s New Yorker in Ryan Murphy’s new series Pose, Van Der Beek joins a boundary-breaking cast which includes five transgender actors in main roles.

Set in the ball scene, it’s a show about self-respect, greed and extravagance.

Van Der Beek spoke with news.com.au ahead of the show’s premiere about why he had to do Pose, why Wall St guys are drawn to him and about why he took that CSI: Cyber job.

(Edited for clarity and length.)

How did you find out about Pose?

How does any actor find out about anything? I read it in the wanted section of the paper — looking for ’80s a**ehole for hire. My agent called and said they’re interested in you for a Ryan Murphy show. I heard they were trying to cast all transgender actors in trans roles and I wanted to be part of it.

It sounded like such a different world from what we usually get to see in scripted drama. So I just jumped on it immediately. I asked, “What do I need to do?”

What did you need to do?

It’s kind of funny, I immediately put myself on tape for it and then I heard later that Ryan wanted to cast me anyway. I didn’t even need to put myself on tape for it. But I’ve been in this business long enough when something really unique comes back that you know you love, I don’t leave anything to chance.

How did Ryan describe the character of Matt to you the first time you talked about it?

I think the words “American Psycho” was probably thrown around. I was told he works for Donald Trump but it was more just a kind of that ’80s ethos of greed, the corruption that came along with insane wealth. That was happening in 1989 on this tiny island of Manhattan at the same time as this LGBTQ ball scene was going on.

Van Der Beek says he’s known people like Matt. Photo: Pari Dukovic/FX

Ryan had said that he was curious about what would happen when these two worlds bumped up against each other. So we needed somebody that could embody that ’80s materialism, machismo, and the toxic masculine side of things. I thought, I’ve met a few of those guys in my life, I’ve got a pretty good pallet from which to choose.

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Are you saying you based the character of Matt on someone you know in real life?

All characters are based in truth, otherwise they don’t ring true to the audience. I grew up in Connecticut, which is very close to New York and I grew up in the ’80s. What Matt represents on the outside, not necessarily on the inside, is kind of the ideal that was held up to everybody my age as what success was — rich, high-powered, nice suit, fancy car.

So I knew people who aspired to that. I’ve met a lot of these Wall St guys who have become rich off real estate or their wealth comes from investments and for some reason, those guys, maybe because I’m this crazy artist with a big heart, they’re drawn to me in a weird way. Maybe they see I’m operating from a different place, even subconsciously, they’re curious about it. So I end up having these conversations with them that are very telling. Based on what the script needs, you put together a character based on what truths you’ve seen in your life. So it’s not based on specifically one person.

What did you think of the choice to actually situate parts of the story within the Trump Organisation and within Trump Tower?

At the time, Trump was certainly divisive but I don’t think he was nearly the divisive force he is now. When we started it, it made perfect sense because Trump is the most recognisable real estate guy who got rich off of that boom that happened. The whole Trump thing kind of ran away from us. I hope at this point, the Trump name doesn’t distract from the rest of the story.

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And Ryan’s shows are often political as well?

Are they? I think he operates from a place of heart. Ryan’s stories are always very human and I think maybe he just doesn’t give a f**k about upsetting anyone politically. I think at the heart of what Ryan makes, is people looking for acceptance and to have their humanity recognised. If that’s political, then I guess so. I don’t see him diving into politics, I think he’s unafraid of politics.

When you guys were filming, were you aware of how significant this show would be in terms of having these major characters that are transgender and played by transgender actors as well?

It did really feel like we were part of something new that hadn’t really been done before.

I left with so much respect for them, the job they did, the energy they brought to it and how accomplished they were. To be trans in this day and age is not easy a road and if they can figure out who they are and stand up for who they are to that degree, despite the resistance they get, then it makes sense they can translate that kind of spirit and energy to screen.

At a cast screening, they were talking back at the screen every three seconds, they were applauding, they were standing up, they were yelling, it was transcendent, it was the most moving screening of anything I’ve ever been to. I get very emotional talking about it. I was so proud of them and so proud to be a part of it.

MORE: James Van Der Beek shares raw family post

Fresh faces

TV can be such a fickle business. CSI: Cyber didn’t last very long and Don’t Trust the B**ch in Apartment 23 didn’t last very long. So going into Pose, what did you think of it being not a network TV show?

CSI was a very down the middle play — I took the job after I had one show cancelled and I just had another baby. It was a storied franchise, it was a great job and I was very grateful for it but when that ended, I looked around the business and said, I really want to be part of big swings, projects that are taking chances. So I started passing on every network show I was offered.

I wrote, produced and starred in my own show for Viceland, What Would Diplo Do, which gave me the best reviews of my career — that was great. And I’m doing more writing now. I said that once I love to write and love developing and producing, well, I’ll only act in it if it’s really something special, and this came along

After Don’t Trust the B**ch in Apartment 23 and What Would Diplo Do, I think people realised you have these great comedic chops. Are you looking to do more comedy?

I’m just looking to tell stories that resonate. A lot of what I write tend to have comedy in it, even if it’s what you call black comedy, it’s taken very seriously but through sheer absurdity and irony, it ends up being funny, so yeah, the things I’m writing right now are balanced with a comedic element. I’ve got three things I’m developing right now and comedy is certainly central to two of them.

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Pose starts on Showcase on Foxtel tonight at 8.30pm, followed by its streaming release on Foxtel Now.

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