Quotes from James Marsden

When you have kids and get older, it goes beyond flowers and chocolate. It's about waking up with a baby, letting her sleep in, and making a coffee for her when she wakes up. To me, being romantic is putting someone else first and thinking about what makes them happy.

To me, the more bizarre the character, the more I'm attracted to it.

It's about balance. Do a movie that's good for your career, then do a one that gets good box office.

Sometimes you just have to be brave. You have to be strong. Sometimes you just can't give in to weak thoughts. You have to beat down those devils that get inside your head and try to make you panic. You struggle along, putting one foot a little bit ahead of the other, hoping that when you go backwards it won't be too far backwards, so that when you start going forwards again you won't have too much to catch up

I guess true courage is when you're really scared but you still do it.

The people I know who thought brutal thoughts and acted in brutal ways - the racists, the sexists, the bigots - never seemed to doubt themselves. They were always sure that they were right... I almost envied them the strength of their beliefs. It must have made life so much easier for them.

I am starting to get into this whole idea of caring about what I wear. There was a time in my life when I could not care less about fashion.

I have always weirdly seen myself as more of a character actor. I have never been suave. I could never see myself playing James Bond. I suppose I could fake it, but I am certainly not James Bond in real life.

I've always loved watches my whole life. When I was growing up, I always thought of having a great watch as that next step - of making it, of a rite of passage.

When I was younger - up until I was 19 years old and in college - I was surrounded with people in high school who felt like they knew what they wanted to do with their lives, and that was intimidating to me because I didn't.

Over the years, I've learned that you can have fun with the fabrics and other elements, but if it's not tailored right, you'll blow it.

I didn't want to go get a job or get a degree in business or marketing, or whatever all my friends were getting degrees in.

Every time I read a script, I see the movie in my head, and I try to see the best movie in my head because everybody interprets the movie differently.

When you're making a film, it's a very technical process. You do things over and over again, and you have to hit your marks and your light and all that stuff.

It's hard enough to just be a good actor. When you're on set, there's everything going against you. There are walkie talkies going off, the camera is creaking and moving, there are boom mics, and you have to hit your mark and make sure you don't shadow the other person's face. It's a really technical process.

When I moved to L.A., I had somebody go, 'Alright. Fix your hair. Wear this.' Like, changed my look a little bit. I kind of came into myself a little better when I moved to L.A.

If you're an attractive guy, everyone thinks you're successful just because of the way you look. I hate that.

I prefer face-to-face conversation as opposed to texting. You need to go out of your way to spend good time with one another; you need to have a date night. Whether you have kids or a career or whatever, for a relationship to thrive, it's about making time for each other.

Early in your career, you feel like there is a formula, a path you have to take. You have to do this movie because this person directed it and you have to be associated with these people. In some ways, I have thrown that out.

If expectations are low, you can only impress people. But if expectations are there for you to be the leading guy, and you've been paid X amount of money, you're on a tightrope, and all of a sudden, you're looking down.

Women pay attention to how men drive because it's a good indicator of what kind of character you have. They want someone who's going to be intelligent and cautious and assertive and confident when you need to be, but not overly aggressive and reckless, and also not timid and overly paranoid.

As an actor, you always think your last job is your last job, and you're always doubting yourself and worried that people will see you're a fraud.

Boy, if Garth Ennis had created a religion, I would sure like to be a part of that. It just makes sense, the way he tackles things in it. It's really heavy stuff and it's incredibly well written.

I was with my wife for five years before we got married, so we've been together since I was 22.