Van Der Beek's Strip Club Etiquette

Dawson's Creek kid James Van Der Beek says he's tired of being known as his alter ego, the sensitive Dawson Leary. He just wants to be himself ? especially in a strip club.

"When people shout 'Dawson,' I completely ignore them," the actor tells Flaunt. "Dawson's not me ? Dawson has a lot of flaws, and I have to play him nine months out of the year. There are days when you're just not in the mood for it. People act like you're obligated. Like I owe them. The kids I don't mind. I just have no patience for rude, pushy adults."

Even when I go to a t---y club, all [the strippers] want to do is talk about their innermost problems," Van Der Beek laments. "How can I watch them strip when they're being so vulnerable? It's not hard to feel sorry for them."

But Van Der Beek says he's no playboy. "There are a lot of starf----rs. It's amazing the perspective you get when you have no interest in f---ing them. Now I keep all the blood in my head. I'm grateful to have such a wonderful relationship. If it weren't for [my girlfriend], I might end up doing something stupid. Guys can be a---holes. Who knows how much trouble I'd get into if I were single."

Van Der Beek also adds being a teen idol isn't all it's cracked up to be. "I miss not being able to just start a random conversation without it being about me. I'd love to alter my appearance without having any plastic surgery. I've sometimes donned a fake beard and glasses, but I look foolish."