James Marsden, Heights/Superman Returns

Leaving behind his paychecks for big-budget special effects movies like the two X-Men hits and Superman Returns, James Marsden works the indie scene in Merchant Ivory's Heights. Cast as a yuppie lawyer about to marry Elizabeth Banks' Isabel and move to the suburbs, Marsden personally rates Heights, where his bisexual character is conflicted about his sexuality, as among his best work. Low-budget movies, with their punishingly compacted schedules can be nightmares, but Marden tells us that first-time director Chris Terrio used the constraints well. And he gives us a preview of what's to come when he reunites with director Bryan Singer for the rebirth of the Superman franchise.

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