James Marsters
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
James Wesley Marsters was born on Aug. 20, 1962 in Greenville, CA. Devoted to a career in performance Marsters enrolled in the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in 1980, moving to New York City to study at the Juilliard School two years later. Marsters dropped out of school in 1984, finding success as a stage actor in Chicago, IL and Seattle, WA over the years to follow. In 1992, Marsters made his television debut with two episodes of "Northern Exposure" (CBS 1990-95), though didn't work again until 1995, when he made another two-episode appearance on a lesser known program called "Medicine Ball" (Fox 1995). The fledgling actor endured yet another two-year hiatus before landing his big break: the role of Spike on the hit series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (The WB/UPN 1997-2003) and, shortly afterward, its spin-off program "Angel" (The WB 1999-2004). During his tenure on the sister series, Marsters made his big screen debut as the male lead of the romantic dramedy "Chance" (2002), starring opposite the film's writer and director Amber Benson, and released his band Ghost of the Robot's first album, titled Mad Brilliant (2003). Following the cancelation of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," Marsters explored work as a solo musician, making his debut with Civilized Man (2005). Meanwhile, found recurring roles on popular programs like "Smallville" (The WB/The CW 2001-2011), on which he played series hero Clark Kent's nemesis Brainiac, and "Without a Trace" (CBS 2002-09), as well as films like "P.S. I Love You" (2007) and "Dragonball: Evolution" (2009). Around the same time, Marsters also explored voice acting work with series like "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (Cartoon Network 2008-2015) and "The Superhero Squad Show" (Cartoon Network 2009-2011). After a slew of additional smaller parts, Marsters created the original video game-centric web series "Vidiots" (2016-), which he directed, wrote, and starred on with Mark Devine. Next, Marsters landed the major role of Victor Stein on the comic book series "Runaways" (Hulu 2017-).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1987
First professional acting role was Ferdinand in "The Tempest" at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago
1989
Directed the Genesis Theater production "Something Unspoken"
1990
Relocated to Seattle, acting with the American Conservatory Theater
1992
TV acting debut in "Northern Exposure" (CBS)
1994
Performed in the Contemporary Theater thriller "Voices in the Dark" in Seattle
1997
Starred as Spike on the series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (The WB/UPN 1997-2003) and "Angel" (The WB 1999-2004).
1999
Had a cameo as a news cameraman in the thriller "The House on Haunted Hill"
1999
Acted in an episode of the Fox series "Millennium"
1999
Reprised role of Spike as a recurring guest on the spin-off series "Angel" (WB)
2000
Showcased his musical talents with acoustic performances in rock clubs
2000
Acted in and contributed music to the Blank Theater Company presentation "The Why"
2003
Lead singer for the rock band Ghost of the Robot; released their debut album <i>Mad Brilliant</i> in February
2005
Had a recurring role on "Smallville" (WB) as Dr. Milton Fine (a.k.a. Brainiac) throughout the show's fifth season; will reprised role in the seventh season in 2008
2007
Joined the cast of the CBS drama "Without A Trace" in a recurring role as Detective Mars
2009
Portrayed the character 'Lord Piccolo' in the live-action film adaptation of "Dragonball Evolution"
Family
Companions
