Despite his utterly convincing British accent on
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marsters was born and bred in California. Trained at Juilliard, the magnetic thespian honed his craft for a decade on the stage in Chicago, New York and Seattle and was already in his mid-thirties when cast as bleach-blond bloodsucker Spike, a character he sunk his teeth into for eight years with irreverent comic glee on both
Buffy and its spin-off,
Angel. On the side, Marsters pursued his musical ambitions, fronting the band Ghost of the Robot before touring as a solo performer in 2005. Marsters' post-
Buffy work included a villainous stint as Brainiac in the 2005-06 season of
Smallville, voicing archvillain Lex Luthor in the 2007 animated film
Superman: Doomsday, portraying astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the 2009 TV film
Moonshot and recurring on the sci-fi show
Caprica. Away from the cameras, Marsters enjoys playing the guitar, watching football and being father to son Sullivan, with whom he performs music.
James Marsters Fast Facts:
- Bitten by the acting bug as a fourth grader when he starred as Eeyore in a staging of Winnie the Pooh.
- Co-created the Genesis Theater Company in Chicago.
- First TV role was a guest spot on Northern Exposure in 1992.
- Received a Saturn Award in 2001 for Best TV Supporting Actor for his role as Spike in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- In 2004, shaved off his Buffy character's famed bleached hair for charity on TV's On Air With Ryan Seacrest.
- Fronted a band named Ghost of the Robot, then left the group to pursue a solo career. His first solo CD, Civilized Man, was released in 2005 as he embarked on a European tour.
- Voiced time-honored villain Lex Luthor in the 2007 animated film Superman: Doomsday.
- Hobbies include playing the guitar and watching football.
- James Marsters Relationships:
- Sullivan Marsters - Son
- Liane Davidson - Ex-wife
- Paul Marsters - Brother
- Susan Marsters - Sister
- Patricia Rahman - Wife
- College:
- The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Santa Maria, CA (1982); attended The Juilliard School, New York, NY