“The Notebook” and “X-Men” star James Marsden (Born Sept. 18, 1973) hails from Stillwater, Okla. (a place he channeled for a few improvisational moments on the “Jury Duty” series). After one year of college, Marsden left for Los Angeles to focus on acting full time. His first roles included small parts on “The Nanny,” “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” (both in 1993) and “Touched by an Angel” in 1995. From 1996 to 1997 Marsden starred in the ABC series “Second Noah” which was about a veterinarian in Busch Gardens, Fla. The actor became more of a household name after landing a recurring role on "Ally McBeal" and starring opposite Katie Holmes in the 1998 feature film “Disturbing Behavior.” His big break was getting cast as Scott Summer ,aka Cyclops, in the X-Men live action film franchise which includes “X-Men” (2000), “X2” (2003) and “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006). Cyclops is the leader of the X-Men and his power is the ability to blast a powerful energy ray from his eyes, but this does mean he has to wear sunglasses at all times. Marsden is also known for playing Lon Hammond Jr. in the 2004 romance feature “The Notebook,” and playing the love interest to Katherine Heigl the 2008 film “27 Dresses.” Over the years he has also maintained a role in several comedies with recurring roles on “30 Rock” (2012-2013) and films “Enchanted” (2007), “Bachelorette” (2012) and “Anchorman 2” (2013). Marsden received an Emmy nomination for his work on the TV series “Jury Duty” (2023), which was a reality TV spoof series in which the actor played an extreme version of himself.