It was clear through his choice of roles that there was a lot more to Van Der Beek than the work he did on Dawson's Creek. 2002's The Rules of Attraction is a great example of the actor's range and need to distance himself from the role that made him a star. The movie, based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel, stars Van Der Beek as Sean Bateman (the younger brother of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman) and follows him and his friends as they do drugs, have sex and navigate the hedonistic, privileged college life of the 1980s.