In 1996, Van Dien played King Tal in "", the second sequel to the 1982 cult classic, "The Beastmaster". Van Dien also starred in the 1997 James Dean biopic "James Dean: Race with Destiny". Soon after, he got the breakthrough role of Johnny Rico in Paul Verhoeven's 1997 science fiction action film "Starship Troopers". His success in "Starship Troopers" subsequently resulted in his casting as Tarzan in "Tarzan and the Lost City" (1998). Van Dien next played Brom von Brunt in Tim Burton's 1999 film "Sleepy Hollow", a reworking of the classic Washington Irving tale.