James Marsden Bio

Family: Wife Lisa Linde (July 2000 - present); Son Jack was born on February 1, 2001, in Los Angeles weighing 7 lbs., 14 oz. He has a sister and two brothers.

Trivia: In 1991, while vacationing with his family in Hawaii, he met actor Kirk Cameron (I) and his actress sister Candice; the Camerons invited Marsden to visit in L.A. and thus began his career. Lost out to Edward Norton for a role in Primal Fear (1996). Turned down the lead role in 54 (1999). Ryan Phillippe later got the role.

Filmography: click here to read about his other roles

James Marsden: James was born on September 18, 1973, in Stillwater, Oklahoma as one of four children. He has one sister and two brothers. He has since moved out to Los Angeles to be closer to "Hollywood." Before leaving, though, he attended Oklahoma State University, where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and sang in his college choir. However, school didn't hold his interest and he dropped out in 1993 to pursue his acting career. While he didn't stay on either "Party of Five" (1994) or "Second Noah" (1996) for long (Jeremy London took over the role of Griffin on "Party of Five" (1994) after the first season, and "Second Noah" (1996) was cancelled), things didn't really slow down too much for James. In fact, before long he was receiving movie offers and starred in Disturbing Behavior (1998), a horror film which also starred Katie Holmes. The film brought in some of the audience that I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Scream (1996) had brought the summers before, but it was widely seen as a disappointment and a sign that the teen horror/thriller genre was on the way out. The less than stellar reception of Disturbing Behavior (1998) put a slight damper on James' career, but he rebounded, popping up in theaters again almost two years later in Gossip (2000/I) and marrying wife Lisa in July of that year. But, once again the movie boasted a young and attractive cast, and once again it was met with a lukewarm response. This time though, James left an impression despite the lack of warmth for the film as a whole. It was his role as Scott Summers/Cyclops in the much anticipated X-Men (2000) movie that truly put James on the map. The role had been bandied about for quite some time before he finally won the role and, next to Wolverine, it was one of the most sought after. The film opened to amazing box office sales, setting records and making the list of the most profitable opening weekends of all time (behind Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)). Suddenly James had become one of Hollywood's fastest rising stars and a leading man of the future. (By Laffz00@aol.com)