Early life and family

Marsden was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the son of Kathleen (née Scholtz) and James Luther Marsden. His father, a professor of animal sciences and industry at Kansas State University, and his mother, a nutritionist, divorced when he was nine years old. His ancestry includes English, Scottish, German, and distant French.

He has four siblings: two younger sisters, Jennifer and Elizabeth, and two brothers, Jeff and Robert. He attended Hefner Middle School and 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. Marsden left after one and a half years, opting instead to move to Los Angeles in order to pursue his acting career.

Career

Early career

Marsden got his first job on a series of episodes of The Nanny as Eddie, Margaret Sheffield's boyfriend. Then he 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: The New Class 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. He also starred in an episode of the outer limits.

X-Men films

Main article: X-Men (film series)

Marsden was cast as Cyclops in the X-Men films. His character is prominent in the comics; his screen time in the films, however, is increasingly reduced, particularly in the sequels. Notably, Marsden also appeared in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. Singer dropped out of the third installment to direct Superman and Marsden was cast as Lois Lane's fiancé, Richard White, but due to schedule conflicts, Marsden's screen time in X-Men: The Last Stand was reduced, stirring controversy from fans of the comics. Marsden's portrayal of Cyclops in the films was well received and garnered him a Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2014, after his character had died in the The Last Stand, Marsden reprised his role of Cyclops in a brief cameo for X-Men: Days of Future Past, as did a few of the original actors from the first film including Anna Paquin and Famke Janssen. He has expressed interest in returning for future films.

Breakthrough roles

In 2004, Marsden co-starred with Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner and Gena Rowlands in the romantic drama The Notebook based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name as Lon Hammond, Jr., the second man Allie Hamilton (McAdams) falls in love with. He was apparently cast for his close resemblance to Garner, who played the older Noah Calhoun, while Gosling portraying the younger Noah Calhoun looked nothing like Garner. In 2007, Marsden played Corny Collins in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Hairspray, based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name. In which he sang two songs, "The Nicest Kids In Town" and "(It's) Hairspray." Both "Hairspray" and the its soundtrack were critically acclaimed, the latter of which has since sold over 1,200,000 copies to date in the United States and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. His next role was with Amy Adams in the Disney hybrid animated/live action film Enchanted, playing Prince Edward. He sang one song as a duet with 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.

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. Though the film was a moderate success, Marsden's performance was heavily praised. Marsden also received a Teen Choice Awards nomination for Choice Movie Actor in a Comedy for his roles in Enchanted and 27 Dresses.

In 2009, Marsden also played the male lead in the 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. He starred opposite Cameron Diaz and re-united with Superman Returns co-star Frank Langella. In 2010, Marsden was cast in the comedy Death at a Funeral along with Chris Rock, Luke Wilson, Danny Glover and Columbus Short, which was a remake of the 2007 British film of the same name.

Recent work

Marsden made an appearance on ABC's Modern Family in January 2011, playing a homeless squatter of Cam and Mitchell. In April, Marsden appeared as the male (live-action) lead in Hop, an Easter-themed comedy co-starring Russell Brand as the Easter Bunny. Although the film was considered a commercial success, opening at the top of the weekend box office and grossing over $100 million in the U.S. box office, Hop generally received negative reviews. Later in 2011, Marsden played the lead in the remake of Straw Dogs, re-uniting with Superman Returns co-star Kate Bosworth. A marked departure from previous roles, the film received mixed reviews and ultimately ended up being a box office flop.

In 2012 and 2013, Marsden appeared in a recurring role in the sixth and seventh seasons of 30 Rock, playing Criss Chros, the boyfriend (and later husband) of the series' main character, Liz Lemon. Simultaneously, his range of films were independent films which included Robot & Frank, Small Apartments, Bachelorette and As Cool as I Am. In 2013, he co-starred with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in the action film 2 Guns, which debuted at number one in its weekend release beating out the animated film The Smurfs 2 which came in second. Soon after, he starred in Lee Daniels' historical drama The Butler as President John F. Kennedy. The film, featuring an ensemble, opened at the top spot and received positive reviews. Marsden played Jack Lime in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, a rival reporter to Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy. The following year, he reprised his role as Scott Summers for the first time in eight years in X-Men: Days of Future Past in a cameo. He would also star in his second Nicholas Sparks film titled The Best of Me, replacing Paul Walker in the lead role.

Personal life

Marsden married actress Mary Elizabeth "Lisa" Linde, daughter of country music songwriter Dennis Linde, on July 22, 2000. The couple have two children: son Jack Holden who was born on February 1, 2001 and daughter Mary James who was born on August 10, 2005. Linde filed for divorce on September 23, 2011.

Marsden also has a son, William Luca Costa-Marsden, born on December 14, 2012, with former girlfriend Rose Costa.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1994	No Dessert, Dad, till You Mow the Lawn	Tyler Cochran
1996	Public Enemies	Doc Barker
1997	Campfire Tales	Eddie	Segment: "The Hook"
1998	Disturbing Behavior	Steve Clark
2000	Gossip	Derrick Webb
2000	X-Men	Scott Summers/Cyclops	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Science Fiction Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team
2001	Sugar & Spice	Jack Bartlett
2001	Zoolander	John Wilkes Booth
2002	Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road	Neal Oliver
2003	X2: X-Men United	Scott Summers/Cyclops
2004	The 24th Day	Dan
2004	The Notebook	Lon Hammond, Jr.
2004	Heights	Jonathan Kestler
2006	The Alibi	Wendell Hatch
2006	10th & Wolf	Tommy
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Scott Summers/Cyclops
2006	Superman Returns	Richard White	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
2007	Hairspray	Corny Collins	Critics' Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble Hollywood Film Festival Award for Ensemble of the Year Palm Spring International Film Festival Award for Ensemble Performance Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007	Enchanted	Prince Edward	Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor - Comedy
2008	27 Dresses	Malcolm Kevin Doyle	Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor - Comedy
2008	Sex Drive	Rex Lafferty
2009	The Box	Arthur Lewis
2010	Death at a Funeral	Oscar	Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Scene Stealer - Male
2010	Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore	Diggs (voice)
2011	Hop	Fred O'Hare
2011	Straw Dogs	David Sumner
2012	Robot & Frank	Hunter Weld
2012	Small Apartments	Bernard Franklin
2012	Bachelorette	Trevor Graham
2013	As Cool as I Am	Chuck Diamond
2013	2 Guns	Harold Quince
2013	The Butler	John F. Kennedy	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2013	Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues	Jack Lime
2014	Walk of Shame	Gordon
2014	X-Men: Days of Future Past	Scott Summers/Cyclops	Cameo
2014	The Best of Me	Dawson Cole
2014	Welcome to Me	Rich
2014	The Loft	Chris Vanowen
2014	The Tale of the Princess Kaguya	Prince Ishitsukuri (voice)	English dub
2015	The D Train	Oliver Lawless
2015	Accidental Love	Scott
2015	Into the Grizzly Maze	Rowan
2015	Unfinished Business	Jim Spinch
2016	Henchmen	Hank (voice)	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Ambush in Waco: In the Line of Duty	Steven Willis	Television film
1993	Saved by the Bell: The New Class	Chad Westerfield	Episode: "Homecoming King"; as Jimmy Marsden
1993	The Nanny	Eddie	2 episodes; as Jimmy Marsden
1994-95	Boogies Diner	Jason	Main role
1995	Blossom	Josh	Episode: "The Date"
1995	Party of Five	Griffin Holbrook	Episode: "Ides of March"
1995	Touched by an Angel	Jake	Episode: "Angels on the Air"
1996-97	Second Noah	Ricky Beckett	22 episodes
1996	Gone in a Heartbeat	Michael Galler	Television film
1997	On the Edge of Innocence	Jake Walker	Television film
1997	Bella Mafia	Luka	Television film
1998	The Outer Limits	Brav	Episode: "Rite of Passage"
2001-02	Ally McBeal	Glenn Foy	13 episodes
2002	Bram & Alice	Arnold Cooper	Episode: "Scribbling Rivalry"
2009	Robot Chicken	Jason Chambers / Lion (voices)	Episode: "Especially the Animal Keith Crofford"
2011	Modern Family	Barry	Episode: "Slow Down Your Neighbors"
2012-13	30 Rock	Criss Chros	13 episodes Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2014	Wander Over Yonder	Sir Brad Starlight (voice)	2 episodes
2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Himself	Episode: "James Marsden Wears Gray Pants and Black High-Top Sneakers"
2016	Westworld	Teddy Flood

Awards

Savannah Film Festival

Year	Award/Category	Nominated Work	Result
2011	"Spotlight Award"	Honorary Award	Won

Grammy Awards

Year	Award/Category	Nominated Work	Result
2008	Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media	Hairspray	Nominated

Billboard Year End Charts

Year	Award/Category	Nominated Work	Result
2007	Top Independent Album of the Year	Hairspray	Won

American Music Awards

Year	Award/Category	Nominated Work	Result
2007	Favorite Soundtrack	Hairspray	Nominated

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2007	Hairspray	SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2013	The Butler	SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2013	30 Rock	SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Nominated

Discography

Soundtracks

Year	Song	Album
2007	"True Love's Kiss"	Enchanted
	"That's Amore"
	"The Nicest Kids in Town"	Hairspray
	"(It's) Hairspray"

Marsden performed the song "Glow", written by Kevin Houlihan on the soundtrack of the movie Gossip in 2000.

Notes:

• Even though Marsden sang on Ally McBeal, he was not featured on any soundtrack released by the TV show.

Charities

James Marsden supports the following charitable cause: Multiple Sclerosis.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]