James Marsden Biography
Summary
"James Paul Marsden" (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is best known for playing Cyclops in the three ""X-Men" films" and for his roles in commercial-success films such as "Superman Returns", "Hairspray", "Enchanted", and "27 Dresses".
Early life and family
James Paul Marsden was born on September 18, 1973, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. His father, a professor of animal studies and industry at Kansas State University, and his mother, a nutritionist, divorced when he was nine years old. Marsden has four siblings, two younger sisters, Jennifer Marsden and Elizabeth Marsden and two brothers, Jeff Marsden and Robert Marsden. 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 then played Cyclops in the "X-Men" films, along side Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, and Halle Berry. Although an important figure and leader in the films, his role is increasingly reduced in favor of other characters, especially Wolverine. This is most evident in the sequels. Fans of Cyclops and X-Men in general were outraged by this, and one IGN.com contributor wrote: 'Cyclops was misunderstood, miswritten, misdirected and generally mismanaged in this series.' However, James Marsden's performance in the films was well-received, and garnered him a Blockbuster Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Marden's screen time in the third X-men film lessened due to his prior commitment to star in Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns", in which he plays Lois Lane's fiancé, Richard White. The film was a box-office success and received mostly positive reviews. 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. 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. Marsden was also receieved a nomination for the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actor in a Comedy but lost to Ashton Kutcher.
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. He also starred in the teen comedy, "Sex Drive" along side Josh Zuckerman. In 2009, Marsden will also be playing the male lead once again in the upcoming horror film "The Box", based on the 1970 short story "Button, Button" by author Richard Matheson. He will star opposite Cameron Diaz and re-unite with "Superman Returns" co-star Frank Langella.
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.
Discography
Although James Marsden sang on "Ally McBeal", he was not featured on any soundtrack released by the show.
External links
(Interview on "The Notebook" and "X-Men 3")
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about James Marsden.
