James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is a Saturn Award nominated American actor and former Versace model, perhaps best known for playing Cyclops in the X-Men films. Recently Marsden has also had memorable roles in Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, and 27 Dresses.

Early life and family

James Paul Marsden was born on September 18th, 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, 28 and Elizabeth Marsden, 16 and two brothers, Jeff Marsden and Robert Marsden, 32. He attended Putnam City North High School, in Oklahoma City and later went on to attend Oklahoma State University where he studied broadcast journalism. 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 the pilot episode 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 (1996) and turned down the lead role in 54 (1998), which later went to Ryan Phillippe. He then went on to star in Disturbing Behavior starring opposite Katie Holmes and Gossip opposite Kate Hudson.

Marsden then played Cyclops in the X-Men films. His X-Men character Cyclops' lessened screen time in the third film is because of scheduling conflicts with his prior commitment to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, in which he plays Lois Lane's love interest, Richard White. 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 (episodes 501-503,506-508) . 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. 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.

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 scored well in the U.S. box office.

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

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.

Miscellaneous

During onstage song commentaries, American singer/songwriter Molly Jenson regularly mentions that the unnamed actor in her song "Thinking of You" is actually James. She was a big fan of his in his role in the TV series Second Noah.

He is heavily involved in charity.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1991	Cool As Ice	Nick
1994	No Dessert, Dad, till You Mow the Lawn	Tyler Cochran
1997	Bella Mafia	Luca	TV film
	Campfire Tales	Eddie
	On the Edge of Innocence	Jake Walker
1998	Disturbing Behavior	Steve Clark
2000	Gossip	Derrick Webb
	X-Men	Scott Summers / Cyclops	MTV Movie Award nomination-Best On-Screen Team (Shared with:Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin) Blockbuster Entertainment Award-Favorite Supporting Actor - Science Fiction
2001	Sugar & Spice	Jack Bartlett
	Zoolander	John Wilkes Booth
2002	Interstate 60	Neal Oliver
2003	X2	Scott Summers / Cyclops
2004	The 24th Day	Dan
	The Notebook	Lon Hammond Jr.
	Heights	Jonathan
2006	10th & Wolf	Tommy
	The Alibi	Wendell Hatch
	X-Men: The Last Stand	Scott Summers / Cyclops
	Superman Returns	Richard White	Saturn Award nomination-Best Supporting Actor
2007	Hairspray	Corny Collins	Hollywood Film Festival & Hollywood Awards-Hollywood Ensemble Acting of the Year Award - Musical/Comedy with the cast of Hairspray American Music Awards nomination-Favorite Soundtrack of 2007 with the cast of Hairspray 13th Critics’ Choice Awards-Best Acting Ensemble with the cast of Hairspray 14th Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination-Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 19th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival-Ensemble Performance Award with the cast of Hairspray
	Enchanted	Prince Edward	Teen Choice Awards nomination-Choice Movie Actor Comedy
2008	27 Dresses	Kevin Doyle / Malcolm Doyle
	Sex Drive	Rex
	Conan: Red Nails	Techotl	(voice)
2009	The Box	Arthur Lewis	post-production
	Nailed	Scott	post-production

Television

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1993	The Nanny	Eddie
1994	Boogies Diner	Jason
1995	Party of Five	Giffin Holbrook
1996,1997	Second Noah	Ricky Beckett
1999	Mickey Mouse Works	Singer Narrator Don Duck Brom Bones
2001, 2002	Ally McBeal	Glenn Foy

Discography

• Lovely perfume ad Sarah Jessica Parker
• Sang melody song Lovely

• Gossip (Soundtrack)
• Glow

• Enchanted (Soundtrack)
• True Love's Kiss
• That's Amore

• Hairspray (2007 soundtrack)
• The Nicest Kids in Town
• The Nicest Kids in Town (Reprise)
• (It's) Hairspray
• You Can't Stop the Beat

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result
2001	MTV Movie Award	Best On-Screen Team (Shared with:Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin)	X-Men
	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Supporting Actor - Science Fiction
2007	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actor	Superman Returns
	Hollywood Film Festival & Hollywood Awards	Hollywood Ensemble Acting of the Year Award - Musical/Comedy with the cast of Hairspray	Hairspray
	American Music Awards	Favorite Soundtrack of 2007 with the cast of Hairspray
2008	13th Critics’ Choice Awards	Best Acting Ensemble with the cast of Hairspray
	14th Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	19th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival	Ensemble Performance Award with the cast of Hairspray
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actor Comedy	27 Dresses, Enchanted

References

External links

• James Marsden at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview on The Notebook and [[X-Men 3]]