‘Disenchanted’ Star James Marsden Admits 1 Romantic Gesture Was Actually Creepy
The role of a charming prince was something Enchanted star James Marden had to learn. The star of Disenchanted recently sat down with late-night talk show host James Corden to talk about the much-longed-for sequel that debuted on Disney+ on November 18, 2022. Joined by co-star Idina Menzel, Marsden didn’t shy away from some impromptu musical numbers or telling embarrassing stories from his romantic past.
James Marsden as Prince Edward in Disney’s ‘Enchanted’
After making his debut as Enchanted’s Prince Edward fifteen years ago, the 49-year-old Marsden and many of the original film’s A-list actors like Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, and Idina Menzel are back for more in Disney’s sequel, Disenchanted.
In the beloved original, Marsden’s Prince Edward sets off to rescue the princess, Giselle (Amy Adams), after she disappears from the animated world of Andalasia. Edward follows Giselle to the real world, and hilarity ensues as the pair navigate the harrows of New York City.
In Disenchanted, things get a little twisted when Giselle (now married to Dempsey’s Robert) “questions her happiness, inadvertently turning the lives of those in the real world and Andalasia upside down in the process” (IMDb). Meanwhile, Edward has found true love with Nancy but returns to the real world to visit Giselle and Robert and is drawn into chaos once again.
Disenchanted star James Marsden says the first time he hit on a girl, it was ‘creepy.’
During an interview on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Marsden regaled both Corden and Menzel with the story of the first time he made a romantic gesture. The girl was Marsden’s 17-year-old babysitter who asked the then-seven-year-old Marsden to get her a glass of water.
Marsden was happy to be of service, but before handing his crush the drink, Marsden recalls kissing her glass. The actor demonstrated his less-than-charming tactic to have his lips touch his beloved’s while on the show and admitted that the move was not as romantic as it was “creepy.”
Disenchanted’s James Marsden and Idina Menzel are shooting for Broadway
Marsden also tells Corden about being cast in the musical Bye Bye Birdie in high school. After assuming himself an untalented singer, the actor admits to not objecting to his song being cut in the production. Later, for another high school musical, Marsden was amazed to find he could sing quite well.
He now admits that he loves to sing and claims to be something of a musical mimic. Marsden even showed off this ability by giving a stunning impersonation of R&B artist John Legend. But there seems to be nothing that Marsden enjoys more than singing with Menzel.
The actor told People that “it was a crime” that the Frozen star “didn’t sing a note” in Enchanted and went on to excitedly talk about how that changed for Disenchanted, with Menzel performing several duets for the film, including one with Marsden.
But Marsden, it seems, isn’t content with just singing with his gifted co-star while filming. Menzel tells Corden that both Marsden and Adams (who Marsden claims are “superfans” of Menzel’s) would often ask the Tony-Award-winning performer—or bait her, rather—to sing with them long after filming had ceased.
As if on cue, Marsden broke into Disney’s Aladdin’s “A Whole New World,” belting out the song in perfect pitch. Moments after he began, Menzel joined in. “Ever the professional,” Billboard writes of Menzel, “the Wicked Broadway star added a harmony over the final lines of the song” in a duet worthy of the stage.
Maybe this is why Menzel suggests that she and Marsden are trying to join forces in a Broadway production. Certainly, if that dream were to come to fruition, the result would be enchanting.
