The First Time James Van Der Beek Played a Quarterback

James Van Der Beek passed away on February 11, 2026, in Austin, Texas. In the weeks that followed, many of the actor’s former colleagues shared fond memories of him on social media that paint a picture of a man that closely resembles his character “Mox” in Varsity Blues - one who is gracious, kind, and hardworking. This is a far cry from the high school quarterback he played four years prior in Angus, his 1995 feature film debut. There he is the malicious, selfish, and slimy Rick Sanford - the school’s good-looking, socially accepted, and cheerleader-attached alpha male who is everything Angus (played by Charlie Talbert after being discovered in an Illinois Wendy’s) aspires to be. 

Recently, the film’s director, Patrick Read Johnson (5-25-77, Spaced Invaders) shared a story about his frustration with Van Der Beek’s initial audition for the role. He took issue with the fact that Van Der Beek read the sides with all of the charm he naturally exuded, rather than with the cliche terror that bullies are known to inflict upon geeks. Johnson went on to note that somewhere in the middle of the audition it hit him that Rick “had to be exactly as charming as James really was,” “the guy that everyone - even his bullying victims - could hardly help but have a crush on.” Johnson went on to credit the actor for knowing “exactly what he was doing that day” and for bringing his talent to bear in the creation of the character we see in the finished film.

So I rewatched Angus, paying particular attention to Van Der Beek, with Johnson’s story fresh in my mind. As one would expect, most of the film’s run time is devoted to the titular character's struggles with finding his place in the world and not the back story of its antagonist, so Van Der Beek had to make every second of screentime count. He must also hold his own among a cast that includes Kathy Bates as Angus’s mother, George C. Scott (in one of his final performances) as Angus’s grandfather, and clever cameos from legends Rita Moreno and Irvin Kershner.

The plot, based on a short story by frequently-censored author Chris Crutcher, hinges on a geeky high school outsider, Angus, and his preparations for the Winter Ball, where he will have to finally speak to and dance with his lifelong crush, Melissa (played by a fresh-from-Jurassic Park Ariana Richards). This once-in-a-lifetime moment has been arranged by Rick as an elaborate prank based on the assumption that Angus can’t dance and won’t have the courage to attend. 

What exactly Rick Sanford’s problem is with Angus the movie never tells us. We know within the first minute of the film that Rick has been taking shots at Angus since kindergarten. I think the most powerful clue as to Rick’s obsession comes in the final confrontation when Rick can’t control himself and exclaims that Angus is “not normal!” His final line to Angus is: “Whatever I am, it’s something you’ll never be.” Here Van Der Beek puts on a brave face, but his deliberate and slow speech shows the character’s intense emotional undercurrent. 

A motif emerges early in the film wherein Rick and Angus find themselves in some sort of crowded space, such as an outdoor lunch or dance in the gym, and the masses of nameless students are going about their lives unbothered, but Rick is staring at Angus - often without Angus even realizing it. There’s a sinister hint to Van Der Beek’s gaze, but upon closer inspection it reads to me as curiosity, and likely jealousy. It almost certainly contains a heavy dose of insecurity. In the opening scenes of the film Angus causes a fumble during a football game and Rick is able to seize the moment to score a touchdown and secure a win for the team. Angus is forgotten on the other side of the field as the crowd rushes to embrace Rick. Even as he is hoisted onto the crowd’s shoulders Rick seems to take more pleasure in Angus’s anonymity than in his own celebrity. His grin comes not in the triumph of a touchdown, or the thrill of victory for his team, but from the devilish delight of having recognized that life has given him a win he doesn’t entirely a deserve at the cost of Angus getting none of the credit he deserves. This scene, early in the film, shows that not only is Rick a sleaze, but that he is seemingly living as one of the gods' lucky chosen ones - a motif that is perhaps best echoed later when Rick wins a radio contest by the sheer happenstance of walking by a pay phone at just the right moment (and, to pour salt in the wound, the universe gives him his quarter back).

Johnson’s revelation about Van Der Beek’s charm is spot on - you absolutely believe that Rick would be elected class president and that he “keeps getting better looking” every time Angus breaks his nose. The balancing act between charmer and sleazeball works because the film is careful to never let Rick be outright cruel to Angus in front of the general public. The only audience to Rick’s insidiousness are his toadie sidekicks and Angus’s equally socially outcast best friend, Troy (masterfully played by Chris Owen - AKA: American Pie’s Sherminator). 

The brilliance of Van Der Beek’s performance shines brightest in the moments where the actor allows Rick’s mask of the golden boy to slip. At the assembly where his prank is put into motion and Angus is announced as the Winter Ball King, the mass of students reacts with absolute shock, but Van Der Beek cracks only a brief guilty grin before remembering to appear surprised. 

The mask again cracks in the film’s darkest scene, which is one of the few to not feature the title character. Rick and his toadies have squirreled Troy into a sketchy alleyway in the hopes of intimidating him into surrendering something that could be used to embarrass Angus at the dance. When Troy slips and falls on his arm, breaking it, he lets out a terrible cry that sends the toadies hopping away. Rick remains to ensure he will get what he wants, yelling at the end, “Do you understand?” The line is then repeated, but the second time Van Der Beek does not make what would have been the most obvious choice - to yell it even louder. Instead, the actor says it softer - with uncertainty and vulnerability, suggesting Rick’s own discomfort in the situation and the character’s unexplored insecurities.

In the film’s climactic Winter Ball, Rick’s mask comes off for all to see after his many attempts to “Carrie” Angus fail. Even though he assaults Angus, punching him in the face and sending him flying into a table of refreshments, no one in the crowd calls him out for it. Despite all this, Angus rallies and delivers one of the greatest monologues in 90s teen movie history. Rick’s defeat is not at being bested by Angus’s words, but rather when he sees he has lost the support of his classmates. Even while sulking around the dance alone in the aftermath Van Der Beek manages to convey something beyond a bully’s anger. His expression suggests a boy who has lost his way.

The movie makes it clear that “there is no normal” and Rick’s insecurities about being seen as anything other than the perfect quarterback are pointless. Upon this rewatch, however, it seems apparent that Van Der Beek had his own ideas about what Rick’s obsession with Angus was and, whatever that may have been, it goes beyond a simple bully’s malice. Since Rick’s screentime is limited (such is the fate of an antagonist in a teen movie), those ideas aren’t brought into focus, but Van Der Beek’s subtle performance choices hint at a world unseen. The  young actor makes each moment count, and thus demonstrates his Hollywood potential. 

That potential was somewhat realized as his star rose and he logged over 70 film and TV credits, but one can’t help but wonder what performances we will never get. Angus gave him an opportunity to make the most of limited time, and upon this rewatch I couldn’t help but be reminded that none of us know how much time we have left on the field.

We can only speculate on the tragedy of Rick Sanford, but the tragedy of James Van Der Beek is painfully clear. He died of colorectal cancer at 48, leaving behind a wife and six children. The cost of his medical care was so great that two months before his death he auctioned off a number of personal screen-used items from Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues. After he passed, friends of the family launched a GoFundMe hoping to raise $1.5 million. As of this writing it has raised over $2.8 million through more than 56,000 individual donors.

Though I will forever be Team Angus, today I can light a candle for Rick Sanford. A hero is only as good as their villain, and it was Van der Beek’s charmingly antagonistic performance that gave Angus his moment.

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