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James Marsden
On the set of Enchanted
Born	James Paul Marsden September 18, 1973 (1973-09-18) (age 35) Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States
Other name(s)	Jimmy Marsden
Occupation	Actor
Years active	since 1993
Spouse(s)	Lisa Linde (since 2000)

James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor and former Versace model, perhaps best known for his roles in Hairspray, Enchanted, 27 Dresses, and the three X-Men films.

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,¹ and his mother, a nutritionist, divorced when he was nine years old.² 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. 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.

Marsden then played Cyclops in the X-Men films, along side Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, and Halle Berry. His X-Men character Cyclops' lessened screen time in the third film because of scheduling conflicts with his prior commitment to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, in which he plays Lois Lane's fiancé, 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. The family recently relocated to Nashville.

Filmography

Discography

Although James Marsden sang on Ally McBeal, he was not featured on any soundtrack released by the show.

References

External links

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