Nearly 25 years ago, the actor had an up-close-and-personal encounter with a warm apple pastry in the 1999 comedy blockbuster, American Pie. Flash-forward a quarter century, and he’s spending this July 4 holiday with a limited edition Passion Fruit pie from the chilled sweets experts at Edwards Desserts.
“No offense to apple — we have quite the storied history,” Biggs jokes to Yahoo Entertainment about jilting Jim’s first love. “It’s got a very special place in my heart, mind and… elsewhere. But this pie is absolutely delicious, and it’s more suited to my palate if I can say so. It’s more Jason and less Jim.”
Those eager to further evaluate Biggs’s choice of dessert partner for themselves can visit the official Edwards website between June 30 and July 3 to order a Passion Fruit pie. And there could be another serving of American Pie on the way as well. Biggs echoes his co-star Seann William Scott in sensing that the time might be right for an American reunion — well, another one.
“I would 100% be down to do another movie,” he says. “I love working with every one of those people. Whenever we’re back on set, it’s like we never missed a beat. And I loved playing Jim; he’s a character that’s very special to me. We’ve kicked around a few ideas, some of which I think are really good. I feel like there’s so much that needs to happen, but I would really lover for it to work out. Nostalgia is very big right now, and if the comments on my social media are any indication, there’s an appetite for this out there.”
We spoke with Biggs about the challenging future of R-rated comedies, whether a certain scene from American Pie could be made today (you know the one) and what Jennifer Coolidge and Eddie Kaye Thomas were like as roommates.
Well, I just know that James Van Der Beek is somewhere right now laughing at me. It’s funny, that movie came out in 2001 and even then it was like, “I can’t get away from this pie!” And now 25 years later, not only have I not escaped it, but I’ve totally leaned into it, embraced it and made it a huge part of my life! I’ve had opportunities to do something like this, and I’m just very protective of it. American Pie is a special movie to me, and that scene in particular resonates with people. I wanted them to feel the right amount of nostalgia and I wanted to do it in a very organic and fun way. I wanted to lean into it and poke fun at the fact that I’ve been the Pie Guy for the last 25 years.