‘Mad Heidi’ Star Casper Van Dien Is Breaking New Ground With The World’s First “Swiss-sploitation” Movie

Casper Van Dien got his start as a TV actor in the early ‘90s, popping up in a variety of one-off roles and recurring-character gigs for several years, but once he landed the part of Johnny Rico in the 1997 film Starship Troopers, he was off and running with a film career that’s continued in earnest ever since. The variety of projects has been tremendous, and that variety has extended to their budgets as well, but it’s a situation that’s nonetheless provided him with steady work and the opportunity to meet and act alongside some true legends.

Decider caught up with Van Dien in the midst of his press blitz for the new “Swiss-ploitation” film Mad Heidi, and believe us when we tell you that it’s a true must-see film, either because you’ll love it (like we did) or because you because actually seeing it is the only way to truly appreciate how completely crazy it is. In addition to chatting with Van Dien about the film in question, he was also happy to discuss a number of his past efforts, including the aforementioned Starship Troopers as well as Tarzan and the Lost City, Sleepy Hollow, Modern Vampires, and more. 

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DECIDER: I’m glad I was actually able to watch Mad Heidi this morning before talking to you.

CASPER VAN DIEN: Oh, you watched it this morning? So it’s nice and fresh!

It is. And I found it to be absolutely insane, but in the best possible way.

It is insane. It is an insane movie. And I think it might be one of my insane performances ever…so far.

I’ll give you that. Well, I guess my first question is how you found your way into the film in the first place. Did they approach you?

Yes! I got a message from my manager, and he said, “This is one of the craziest scripts I’ve ever read!” And my agent was so into it, so I read it, and I said, “I’m so into it! I can’t wait to talk to these guys!” So I went to talk to them, and I said, “Obviously you guys are huge Starship Troopers fans.” And they go, “Yes! ‘Cause we want you!” And I said, “Well, you got me!” [Laughs.] They were just so sweet. They were so enthusiastic. It’s so infectious to be around people like that. And it was all crowdfunded, and the investors were extras and crew on the set. They just had such a joie de vivre. You know, they were just so happy and so excited, and it was just infectious. I loved it. I loved every bit of the experience.

How was Alice Lucy? Because I know this was her first film ever, but she was fantastic in it.

Yeah, she’s incredible. My wife and I love her. She was just sweet the whole time, so excited. She’s a real martial artist in addition to being an actress, and this was her first real big gig, but she nailed it. Knocked it out of the park. I was so impressed with her and just… Well, you know when you see somebody who’s got a natural ability. She was just so good for the role. 

Also, one thing that really surprised me about it… You know, there are a lot of films coming out now where they’re taking an existing property that’s fallen out of copyright, and it just feels like they’ve done it for a quick cash grab. This actually felt like there was intent behind why they chose the story of Heidi and adapted it.

Yeah, this was the first ever Swiss-ploitation film. [Laughs.] This was how they labeled it. It literally was insane. Like I said, reading the script was just insane, but when we got there, it was just as insane. But the attention to detail was just wonderful. All the little guards that were working in the film had nametags: Rodriguez, Tarantino, Verhoeven, Argento… They had one for Schenkel, for Carl Schenkel, who was the director of my Tarzan film [Tarzan and the Lost City], because he was Swiss-German, like they were! But nobody ever sees the nametags in it. And they didn’t even tell me about them. I just went around and started reading them, and I was, like, “Wait a minute…” I love those kind of details. They didn’t mention it in the movie, but they’re in there. And then all the artwork they did, with all the propaganda posters… I thought it was fantastic. I was really impressed with them. 

I’ll definitely never look at cheese the same way again.

[Laughs.] I know! I mean, hot cheese fondue boarding… I was, like, “What the…?” I think the movie got even insane than the script, because they put in the posters, and there’s the painting they did of me fighting a bear with my shirt off. I wanted it so bad, but the director’s, like, “No, that’s mine.” So I had to sign it for him. But someone actually painted that! I just thought, “That’s so absurd!” But it was just so much fun. I mean, you go work and you’re having fun and just crazy, insane things all day long, and everybody’s just so sweet… I really loved it.

And I’ll just say that I don’t think I’m misreading things to suggest that there are some parallels between events in the film and present-day America. in the premise.

Yeah, I think so. I mean, I didn’t want to go full Trump, but I was trying to do more like, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger meets Tommy Wiseau meets… [Starts to laugh.] I mean, this is what was going on in my head. Whatever comes out afterwards… [Shrugs.] But I had the gift of working with Johnny Depp in Sleepy Hollow, and I watched him. He would talk to me about how his character was like a young girl, and he had a specific young girl that he was talking about. It was like how he did Keith Richards for Pirates of the Caribbean and manifested that. So when I went into this, I really thought about that. Because the script… You have to have a commitment to the insanity, I think. At least that’s how I did it. Now, somebody else might’ve done it differently. But I was having so much fun with being that insane!

Well, speaking of insane films, I actually traded messages this morning with Richard Elfman [director of Modern Vampires, a.k.a. Revenant]…

Oh, I love Richard. When we did that movie, it was so cool. That’s one of the reasons I got Sleepy Hollow, because of that movie.

Really? I didn’t realize that.

Yeah, Tim Burton uses Danny Elfman all the time — Rick used Danny for some of our music, too — and Tim saw the movie, and I got the audition for Sleepy Hollow because of that movie.

That’s amazing. Well, Richard speaks very highly of you. He said, “It was the most difficult project I’ve ever worked on, but Casper was a gentleman of the highest order. Never complained, always gave his all, was a positive force to the other cast members, and he can not only do action, but he’s got fine dramatic chops plus comedic timing.” 

I… I love him. What a great thing to say. You’ve got to make sure to put that quote in there. [Laughs.] And I’m gonna tag him when the article goes out, because he’s just such a sweet man and so creative. I had met with him before I got Starship Troopers, and he wanted me for that role. And then when I got Starship Troopers, my agents at the time were, like, “You don’t want to do that movie now.” And I’m, like, “Well, yeah, I made the commitment to it beforehand. I’m not gonna back out of it.” Because they were trying to get me to not do it. And then people were, like, “Well, that’s gonna be the death of your career.” And then I get the audition for Sleepy Hollow off of it! It’s amazing, because everyone has an opinion in the business, and they try to tell you what you can do and what you should do and how you should do it and what mistakes you’re making. But if I had listened to them and not done that movie, Tim Burton wouldn’t have seen me, and I wouldn’t have been in Sleepy Hollow. Or I might not’ve been, anyway. But he did see it, and I thank Rick Elfman for that!

Of all the cast members in that film, I have to ask what you remember about working with Rod Steiger.

I loved Rod Steiger. He was amazing. He had just gotten through a quadruple heart bypass surgery, and I don’t know all the details, but he told me that he’d caught his ex-wife and… Well, he was having a hard time. I don’t know if they were separated or whatever they were going through, but he was not in a great place. But he was just a professional as an actor, always prepared, always on set on time. He was amazing to work with, had great stories, and he gave it his all, on camera and off. He was just a gem to work with. I mean, I was in awe of him. Just hanging out with him, listening to his stories… One of the reasons I’m an actor is because of actors like him and others I got to work with, like Ernest Borgnine or Robert Mitchum or any of these actors that are old-timers. Ernest Borgnine did a western with me [Aces ‘N’ Eights] which was incredible. But Rod Steiger, he was an Academy Award winner. So was Ernest Borgnine! So I was thrilled to with those kinds of actors.

I was actually going to ask you about Mitchum. I know you’d already had the connection with him offscreen, but what was it like to actually get to work with him in James Dean: Race with Destiny?

[Writer’s note: Van Dien was married to Mitchum’s daughter Carrie – who also appeared in the TV movie in question – from 1994-1997.]

That blew me away. When he came and played George Stevens to my James Dean, I had no idea that he was showing up. I said, “Who’d you get to play George Stevens?” The director goes, “Oh, we got this actor. He’s a really good actor. You’ll be happy with him.” I’m, like, “Okay.” And then out of the trailer walks Robert Mitchum! And I go, “What are you doing here?” And he’s, like, “Hey, I’m playing George Stevens!” I went to the director and I go, “Why didn’t you tell me?” And he goes, “He told me not to tell you.” [Laughs.] Robert Mitchum had done his last movie with Johnny Depp, which was Dead Man, and he retired after that. He came out of retirement to do this one day on the movie as George Stevens to my James Dean. It was one of the biggest compliments of my career. And also that he wanted to surprise me with it! Because that movie couldn’t afford him. He did that just because…he wanted to work with me, I guess! He wanted to give me that gift of working with him, which is really what it was.

I’ll tell you this much: one take. He got everything in one take. And I had to be on. I was so mad at the director. I’m, like, “I don’t care that he told you not to tell me. You’ve got to tell me this!” I was already prepared, but I would’ve wanted to try to even overprepare. Which taught me a valuable lesson: always overprepare. Because if you have someone like that who comes in and you’re not prepared, and they’re amazing and they know their stuff inside and out… And he had a photographic memory. I think that’s where my daughter Grace got it, because she has a photographic memory. She’s amazing. But working with him was amazing. And we both nailed the two scenes we had all in one take. And I only did it because I was, like, “I am not screwing up!” And that was the first day I noticed that the crew… They could be loud and obnoxious, but as soon as Robert Mitchum came on the set, everybody was quiet.

I mean, who wants to fuck with Robert Mitchum?

Nobody. [Laughs.] But I think everybody wanted to hear everything he said, too. They didn’t want to miss it. But it was the first time I’d ever seen everybody just creeping around. It was the quietest movie set I’ve ever been on…for that one day. The rest of the time, it was like every other movie!

I always like to ask actors about the first time they appeared on camera. In your case… IMDb can’t always be trusted, but it looks like yours was an uncredited role in a TV movie called Menu for Murder.

It’s the first movie I worked in. My scene got edited out. [Laughs.] I was a lifeguard in it, and I had a couple of lines with Morgan Fairchild, who was wonderful and amazing, and to this day we’re still friends. She’s a mentor of mine. We had a rep who represented both of us, and he did something that was kind of creepy at the time, and she stood up for me. She’s awesome.

How’d you find your way into acting in the first place? Was it something you always wanted to do, or did you just kind of stumble into it?

You know, I went to an all-guy military school, so we didn’t have Romeo and Juliet. We didn’t have theater like that. Because I would’ve been the guy they would’ve chosen. [Laughs.] Back then, I was already going through enough when they were calling me a Ken doll and all that. When you go to an all-guy military school, you do not want to be called a Ken doll. When you get paid later to do it like Ryan Gosling got to do it… I mean, good for him! That’s great. I would’ve loved that, too! But back then it was a little bit harder, because you’re already getting picked on and… You know, there was a lot of bullying going on. A lot of great guys, but…kids can be mean. And I’m guilty of it, too. I got in a lot of fights and did a lot of things. But I wouldn’t have played the Juliet back then. I wouldn’t have been the guy who played that. But now they’re co-ed…and now I would’ve taken it as a challenge! But back then I was already fighting enough. I didn’t need any more!

So that movie was my first real job, but I’d booked a commercial. I booked my very first audition, in Miami. It was a commercial for Midway Airlines. I got the callback, and in the callback we had to sing and dance, so I sang a song I wrote, and I booked the audition. Everybody was, like, “Whoa!” And then I got in the union. Because the job was, like, “You can get in the union on this. That’s rare.” Back in the old days – I think that was August of ’89 when I got in – I paid my whole check that I got from the commercial just to get in the union! [Laughs.] I was, like, “Why am I doing this?!” And then I had a manager who wanted to meet me, and he wanted his “Magnificent Seven.” In that was Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Elijah Wood and me and…he was, like, “You’re gonna make it. They’re young, they’re gonna make it now. You’re gonna make it when you’re older.” Unfortunately, he died a few years later of AIDS. But he was an incredible man. Gary Scalzo. He was just a great, great manager and a great man. And I’m sorry he had to go when he did, but he was a cool guy, and he was the first real manager I had. I didn’t know what I was doing it all. But he called us his “Magnificent Seven,” and he told us we were all going to work, and we all do on different things.

You brought up Starship Troopers earlier, and I have to ask about that experience, because it’s a film that not only holds up, but it might actually play better now than it did when it was originally released.

 Yeah, Starship Troopers. Paul Verhoeven and Ed Neumeier. When I got the audition, I’d read the book as a kid, and I was a huge Verhoeven fan. Huge! So I’d seen Soldier of Arms, Spetters, The Fourth Man… I was so excited. And of course I’d seen Robocop! So when I got the script, I was reading it, and I was, like, “Oh, my God, this script is amazing!” And I go, “How did I know this sense of humor when I was a kid?” Because I read the book when I was 12. So I went and re-read the book…and the humor’s not in there! That’s all Ed Neumeier. Ed and Paul. But Ed wrote that in there, and he’s still one of my best friends to this day. He was in my wedding party. He’s just a great guy. But it was funny to go back and read the book after reading the script and realize, “Oh, there’s no humor in here. It’s all straightforward.” It’s still a great book. But it’s different from the movie.

The movie, I think, is even more intelligent, because it gets the left and the right to argue and say that it’s their movie…and anytime you can get two opposing sides to discuss things, I think it’s better, because then at least you can have open communication, which is much better than…how things are now. [Laughs.] I’m not a political guy. I’m not a political guy at all. I like making movies. That’s my thing. I just don’t like the vitriol and hatred that’s being spewed by everybody. I prefer kindness. I think in general humans are more kind than not. I mean, maybe when they’re driving their cars and they get road rage or something that makes them disconnect from knowing that we’re all connected. And sometimes on the internet people can be vile, as opposed to some things that they would never say or do in person. So I think that we all just have to strive to be better to each other. Put politics aside. 

Before we step away from Starship Troopers, what was it like working with Neil Patrick Harris on that film? Because it’s a role for him that was so unlike anything else he’d done up to that point.

Well, Neil is a phenomenal talent and a kind man who is just so smart, and he’s got an incredible wit and…just a talented guy. He was great. I loved working with him. I wish I’d had more to do with him. But I had a lot of fun with him. He’s a great actor, which is what I was thinking when I was working with him. I mean, I’d seen his TV show, I’d watched that, but when he came on set, I was just, like, “Wow, he’s just so talented. He just gets it.” He just got it right away. That was awesome. I think that shocked and surprised everybody else when they were in there, because he had to overcome that image of being Doogie Howser at the time. But when I was acting with him, I didn’t see that character at all. I know some people tried to say that they did when he was onscreen, but he’s a committed actor. He’s phenomenal. Just a great guy.

I’ve got a stock question I like to ask people: what’s your favorite project you’ve worked on over the years that didn’t get the love you thought it deserved?

Tarzan and the Lost City. I am a huge Tarzan fan. I have all 24 books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I’m the 20th Tarzan. There’ve been 23 of us. [Laughs.] But I’m the 20th! I did the foreword for Tarzan the Invincible, which is Book 14, and I also did the foreword for Tarzan in Film. And I’m very close to the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. Danton Burroughs, who is Edgar Rice Burroughs’ grandson, was a really good friend of mine until his passing in 2008. It was devastating, because he was a great man and just a kind man who went out of his way to help me. And my dad was the biggest Tarzan fan growing up. My grandfather put ropes going around from the back porch in Ramsey, New Jersey, all the way through the trees, so that my dad could almost make it around the whole house, through the forest, do one skip to a rock, and then with a jump, one foot would land on the ground, and then he’d get on the porch. He said, “I could almost make it around!”

So my dad’s the one who got me into reading the books on Tarzan, watching the Tarzan films… Johnny Weissmuller – Tarzan #7 – is my Tarzan because of my father. He was my father’s as well. Tarzan was my dad’s idol. So when I got to play my idol’s idol, it was one of the greatest gifts of my life. And then, many years later, the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate was doing the Dum Dum Awards, which is…not because Tarzan’s dumb! [Laughs.] It’s the sound of the drums! But they gave me the Golden Lion Award for being the Tarzan closest to the book. And the person who gave me the award was Jane Goodall! And she gave it because she was named after the “Jane” in the Tarzan books, and she worked with apes because of Tarzan. And she said my Tarzan was the closest to the book, which was a huge compliment. I got that in front of two of the other Tarzans (Ron Ely and Denny Miller) and my kids, which was cool. And to meet Jane Goodall! I had actually studied how she spoke to apes and how she moved with them. I studied her tapes for Tarzan, for the role. I wanted to do everything like she did. So I went over those tapes with the zoologist that we had working on the film and who was in charge of all the animals. He said, “Yeah, the Jane Goodall tapes are probably the best ones.” So I had VHS of them back then, going over them. 

So, yeah, I wish that movie had gotten more love. But what happened was that it was done by Village Roadshow, it was when Warner Brothers had first bought them, and the movie – which we had originally shot as rated R – they made it PG. And that’s hard to do in editing. There were some mistakes, and some of the visual effects that they did, and they changed the ending. But Bayard Johnson wrote an original script that was off five of the books that I loved, but then they started doing rewrites and changed some of the things, and I was, like, “What book is this from?” And they’re, like, “Casper, it’s movies!” And I’m like… [Sighs.] So it had Tarzan and his beasts coming to the rescue at the end, but they changed it to Mugambe throwing the bones and then these giant guys come. And they were amazing warriors, so tall, and they spoke languages. But in the thing, they could get shot, and then they just disappeared into dust. And I was, like, “Eh, kind of weak.” So that part of it was disappointing, because the original script… You know, in the latest Tarzan that they had [Alexander] Skarsgård in, he had some of the beasts come in. His were all computer graphics, but that was kind of what we had in our original script, which was originally called Greystoke II. And then it was called Tarzan and Jane, which is what I think it should’ve been called. But they didn’t go with that. They went with Tarzan and the Lost City.

I know we’ve got to wrap up, but I’ll throw out another stock question to close: do you remember the first person you worked with where you had to fight not to fanboy out on?

Ooh. Um… Well, it’s hard. I’d say there are many actors that I’ve worked with that were incredible. I got to do Beastmaster III with Marc Singer. I’d loved the first Beastmaster. But I also had Tony Todd in that movie. I had David Warner! I was looking at him, and I loved Time Bandits, and I also loved that one where he played Jack the Ripper.

Oh, yeah: Time After Time.

Yes, Time After Time, thank you! He was so good in that! So, yeah, I think maybe David Warner might’ve been the first one where I was really, like, “Oh, my God!” But the weird thing about me is that it’s pretty much everybody I work with. [Laughs.] It’s almost embarrassing to say. I just get so excited. When I’m on a film, I’m, like, “I can’t believe they’re letting me do this! I can’t believe they’re letting me play this! I can’t believe it!”

So every time I get to be around them, I’m pretty impressed. But I’d say the people who fall into that category… I mean, Robert Mitchum was one, and Rod Steiger, and absolutely Ernest Borgnine. It was one of the greatest moments when I got to work with him. But, I mean, Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken…Now I’m going through all these! Michael Ironside! I’m so lucky and blessed in my career just getting to work with cool people.

I just did a scene with Christoph Waltz in Alita: Battle Angel, I had one line in it, I had basically a cameo in it, and he comes up to me and goes, “Um, do you need anything else from me?” And I’m like… [Breathlessly.] “Christoph Waltz…just asked me…if I needed anything else from him! Dude, you’re the best! I think you’re incredible! You can act in, like, every language! Like, really act! And you’re asking me?” [Laughs.] I’m overwhelmed when I get to work with actors like that. It’s just so exciting. If I wasn’t an actor, I’d try to do something within the industry. I’m directing a movie — it’ll be the fourth movie I’ve directed — this September, hopefully, with the strike and everything, with my daughter and a couple of friends of mine and some people. So that’ll be exciting!

Mad Heidi is currently available to rent or purchase on VOD streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video.

Will Harris (@NonStopPop) has a longstanding history of doing long-form interviews with random pop culture figures for the A.V. Club, Vulture, and a variety of other outlets, including Variety. He’s currently working on a book with David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. (And don’t call him Shirley.)