James Marsters

Marsters moved to Chicago, where his first professional acting role was Ferdinand in The Tempest at the Goodman Theatre in 1987. In this production, he was rolled onto the stage strapped naked to a wheel. He talks about this experience and his other theatrical roles at length in a 2020 interview with Michael Rosenbaum on the podcast 'Inside of You'.[3] He also appeared with well-known Chicago companies such as the Northlight and the Bailiwick and with his own group, the Genesis Theatre Company. Marsters was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for his performance of the lead role of Robespierre in the six-hour drama Incorruptible: The Life, Death and Dreams of Maximilian de Robespierre in 1989.

In 1990, Marsters moved to Seattle and, with Liane Davidson and Greg Musick, formed the New Mercury Theatre. In this and other companies, Marsters was involved in a wide range of plays, including Teechers (a British play by John Godber), Anouilh's Antigone, an original work based on the Dr. Seuss books, and Shaw's Misalliance.

In 1992, Marsters got his first TV acting job on Northern Exposure, in which he appeared for two episodes as a bellboy and a church minister. He has made guest appearances on television series such as Andromeda, as well as the independent films Chance (2002), Winding Roads (1999), and the USA Network movie Cool Money (2005). In 1999, he had a small role in the remake of House on Haunted Hill as a TV cameraman.

He attracted the attention of the general public for his appearance as villain (and later anti-hero) Spike on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (first appearing in season 2). For the role, he put on a London accent and he received informal coaching from English co-star Anthony Head.

Spike had been intended as a short role by creator Joss Whedon, who initially resisted Spike's popularity. "He made it very clear he did not want the show to be taken over by another romantic vampire," Marsters told 411Mania, adding "to Joss, vampires were supposed to be ugly, evil, and quick to be killed... when I was cast Joss did not imagine me to be popular; Spike was supposed to be dirty and evil, punk rock, and then dead." The massive fan response prevented his character from being killed off, allowing him a presence throughout the second season. There were no plans to bring him back as a regular until the character Cordelia Chase was moved to the spin-off show, Angel, and, as Marsters told 411Mania, "they needed someone to tell Buffy she was stupid and about to die, and they decided to bring me back". He thought he would not last as, being a vampire, he was restricted to night-time scenes and could not feasibly interact with the characters as often as Cordelia.[4] Instead, Spike would last until the very end of the show and become a romantic partner for Buffy.

After the conclusion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marsters carried Spike over to its spinoff, Angel, as a series regular in the fifth and final season of the show. Marsters was asked to keep quiet about this, as his return was intended to be a surprise, but the network promoted Spike's return as soon as it could in order to attract advertising.[4] In April 2004, following the end of Angel, Marsters had Spike's trademark bleached hair shaved off for charity live on television during an episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest.[5]

When the show was cancelled, there were plans for several TV movies. Talk of a Spike movie began in 2004[6] and Whedon still had plans into 2006,[7] before it was formally abandoned. Marsters had said he would only return to play Spike if the project took place within five years, feeling he would become too old to play the character (an immortal) after that:

As long as I could do it within, say, the next four or five years; past that, I'm too old. Spike's a vampire, man, and I've got high standards.

— James Marsters, TV Guide Interview, March 3, 2005

Aside from playing the character, Marsters co-wrote a comic book one-shot for Dark Horse Comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike and Dru.[8] After both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel ended, Marsters became active with the canonical comic book series of both shows on stories centering around his character. A canonical graphic novel set during the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spike: Into the Light, written by Marsters himself, was released by Dark Horse Comics on July 16, 2014.

Marsters has narrated the audiobooks for The Dresden Files, a series of detective novels with a supernatural bent and the side short story collection in the same universe, Side Jobs, were also recorded by Marsters. He did not originally record the Dresden book Ghost Story due to a scheduling conflict, leaving fellow Smallville alumnus John Glover to record it;[9] this caused a fairly noteworthy public outcry by audiobook listeners. He returned for the following book Cold Days. On March 24, 2015, Jim Butcher announced that a new version of the Ghost Story audiobook was to be released on April 21, 2015 with Marsters returning as narrator in response to fan demands.[10]

In 2005, Marsters filmed a thriller, Shadow Puppets, with Jolene Blalock. Late that year, Marsters appeared on the television series Smallville playing Dr. Milton Fine—the popular Superman villain Brainiac—in eight episodes throughout the show's fifth season. He reprised his role as Brainiac in a four-episode arc in the seventh season, and did a cameo voice-over in season eight. He returned for one episode in the show's final season.[11] On October 29, 2005, Marsters presented two performances of his own abridged adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth with American actress Cheryl Puente as Lady Macbeth, followed by question and answer sessions with the audience and acoustic concerts in London.

In September 2006, Marsters' interpretation of Godber's Teechers was performed on the Queen Mary with two other actors in Los Angeles. This is a play he had received critical acclaim for as a stage actor prior to his television work. Marsters co-starred in the 2007 cinematic release of P.S. I Love You alongside Kathy Bates, Hilary Swank, and Gerard Butler.[12] Released in September 2007, Marsters starred in the direct-to-DVD animated movie, Superman: Doomsday, providing the voice of iconic villain Lex Luthor. The film received mostly positive reviews.

In 2008, he guest-starred in Torchwood, a spin-off of the popular British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first appearing in the episode "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang",[13][14] as the nefarious omnisexual time traveller Captain John Hart. He reprised the role in the last two episodes of the second season.

He portrayed "Piccolo Daimao" in the live-action film adaptation of the popular Dragon Ball manga and anime,[15] directed by James Wong and produced by Stephen Chow, which was released worldwide on April 10, 2009.

On July 20, 2009, the film Moonshot aired on the History Channel in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the 1969 moon landing. In this film, Marsters portrays Buzz Aldrin. On August 19, 2009, it was announced that he signed on for a role in Caprica as the terrorist leader Barnabas Greeley.[16]

Also in August 2009, Marsters' science fiction western, High Plains Invaders aired on the Syfy Channel. In this alien invasion flick, Marsters portrays Sam Danville.[17] It was announced in August 2010 that Marsters would be joining the cast of Syfy Channel series Three Inches as a series regular portraying Troy Hamilton, a former government agent who now leads a team of superheroes.[18]

On June 24, 2011, Marsters appeared in an L.A. Theatre Works radio production of The Importance of Being Earnest, in the part of Sir John Worthing, which aired on June 25, 2011.

He has appeared on Supernatural in the episode "Shut Up, Dr. Phil", which aired October 21, 2011, alongside fellow Buffyverse co-star Charisma Carpenter. He also appeared in Warehouse 13 as Bennett Sutton, which aired in 2013.

In 2018, some sources speculated that Masters is the voice actor of Dragon Ball Super character Zamasu.[19][20] Marsters have yet to provide confirmation as to whether he is involved with Dragon Ball Super as the English voice actor for Zamasu.[21][22]