Quotes from James Van Der Beek

I love New York City. Everyone is busy with their own lives - and no one is interested in some Hollywood celebrity walking past in downtown Manhattan.

In a way, you kind of get caught up in whatever image of yourself you think is out there.

At a young age, acting was so inspiring and exciting, because to me it was play - make-believe, pretend.

Being the lead of the show and working a lot of hours - all good stuff, a tremendous education, incredible opportunity, it changed my life - it was a marathon, and by the end of it I was pretty beat.

It's a free country and I can keep my mouth shut whenever I want

I always show up to work and give it everything, and some things turn out better than others - and some things you can expect that it will come out better than others.

The more you make fun of yourself and don't try to go for any kind of respect, the more people seem to respect you.

Ultimately, I'd love to be able to work in film.

I remember one day during my freshman year of high school, when as usual I was obsessively listening to a cast recording: it may have been 'Jesus Christ Superstar.' And I remember sitting there, totally absorbed, saying to myself, 'I can do this.'

The less seriously you take yourself, the better work you're going to do.

I've never really had a problem with the imagination level of an audience. They're always smarter and savvier than any studio exec will give them credit for.

Had my first son this morning... well, actually, my wife had him. I just caught him. Wo. Heart expanding way faster than my brain...