| James Marsden |
Marsden on the set of Enchanted |
| Born |
James Paul Marsden
September 18, 1973 (1973-09-18) (age 36)
Stillwater, Oklahoma,
United States |
| Other name(s) |
Jimmy Marsden |
| Occupation |
Actor |
| Years active |
1993–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Lisa Linde (2000–present) |
James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is best known for playing the superhero Cyclops in the three X-Men films, and for his roles in other commercially successful films such as Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, and 27 Dresses.
Early life and family
Marsden was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma. His father, a professor of animal studies and industry at Kansas State University,1 and his mother, a nutritionist, divorced when he was nine years old.2 Marsden has four siblings, two younger sisters, Jennifer and Elizabeth and two brothers, Jeff and Robert. He attended Putnam City North High School, in Oklahoma City and later went on to attend Oklahoma State University where he studied broadcast journalism. He was also a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. However, Marsden left after one and a half years, opting instead to move out to Los Angeles in order to pursue his acting career.
Career
Marsden got his first job on a series of episodes of The Nanny as Eddie, Margaret Sheffield's boyfriend. He then went on to star in the Canadian television series Boogies Diner, which aired for one season. With the end of that series, he guest starred on other television shows such as Saved by the Bell and Party of Five. He later starred in the ABC show Second Noah. He lost out to Edward Norton for a role in Primal Fear and turned down the lead role in 54, which later went to Ryan Phillippe. He then went on to star in Disturbing Behavior opposite Katie Holmes and Gossip opposite Kate Hudson. He also appeared in the television series Ally McBeal, as one of the main cast members during the first half of season 5, where he also showcased his singing abilities.
Marsden was then cast as Cyclops in the X-Men films, along side Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, and Halle Berry. His character is a prominent figure in the comics; his screen time in the films, however, is increasingly reduced, particularly in the sequels. While this upset many fans of the comics, James Marsden's performance in the films was well received, and garnered him a Blockbuster Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 3 Marden also appeared in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, where he played Lois Lane's fiancé, Richard White. The film was a box-office success and received mostly positive reviews.4 Marsden later played Lon Hammond Jr. in the romantic movie The Notebook, which was based on a Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. The Alibi was released in 2006, but only in Europe as of late. An American release date is still to be determined.
In 2007, Marsden played Corny Collins in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the 1988 John Waters movie Hairspray alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, Queen Latifah and John Travolta. There he also made his musical debut by singing two of the film's songs The Nicest Kids In Town and (It's) Hairspray. Both Hairspray and the film's soundtrack were critically-acclaimed. The soundtrack has sold 1,291,075+ copies to date in the United States, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.5 His next role was in the Disney hybrid animated/live action film Enchanted, playing Prince Edward with co-stars Amy Adams, Susan Sarandon, Idina Menzel and Patrick Dempsey. He sang one song as a duet with Amy Adams at the beginning of the film and a duet with Idina Menzel that was cut from the film. Enchanted was well received critically and proved to be a commercial success, earning more than $340 million worldwide at the box office.6 Marsden was also received a nomination for the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actor in a Comedy but lost to Ashton Kutcher.7
Following his successes in 2007's Hairspray and Enchanted, Marsden played the male lead in the 2008 romantic comedy 27 Dresses opposite star Katherine Heigl, which grossed $160 million worldwide.8 He also starred in the teen comedy, Sex Drive along side Josh Zuckerman. In 2009, Marsden also played the male lead in the horror film The Box, based on the 1970 short story "Button, Button" by author Richard Matheson, which was earlier made into an episode of The Twilight Zone.9 He starred opposite Cameron Diaz and re-united with Superman Returns co-star Frank Langella.10
Personal life
Marsden has been married to Lisa Linde (Days of our Lives) since July 22, 2000. They have a son, Jack Holden (born February 1, 2001) and a daughter, Mary James (born August 10, 2005). Lisa is the daughter of the legendary country music songwriter Dennis Linde. The family recently relocated to Nashville.
Filmography
Discography
| Year |
Title |
Album |
Notes |
| 2007 |
"True Love's Kiss" |
Enchanted |
|
| "That's Amore" |
|
| "The Nicest Kids in Town" |
Hairspray |
Nominated — American Music Award for Favorite Soundtrack of 2007 (shared with the Hairspray cast) |
| "(It's) Hairspray" |
Although James Marsden sang on Ally McBeal, he was not featured on any soundtrack released by the show.
References
External links
