James Marsden wants to portray Frank Sinatra in a biopic similar to Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles movie ‘Ray’.
James Marsden wants to star in a Frank Sinatra biopic.
The 51-year-old actor has expressed his interest in playing the ‘My Way’ icon in a film similar to Jamie Foxx’s 2004 Ray Charles biopic ‘Ray’, and has stressed he’d like to sing live if such a project were to go ahead.
In an interview with The Post, Marsden said: “To do a biopic like what Jamie Foxx did with Ray. I would love to. And you’re actually using your singing voice, as well.”
‘The Notebook’ star added he has always “loved emulating some of the old crooners”, and believes there are plenty of “interesting stories” within Sinatra’s life that would translate well to the silver screen.
He said: “I’ve always loved emulating some of the old crooners, like Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
“I always thought there were so many interesting stories of Frank Sinatra’s life that could be played. And for whatever reason, you’ve never really seen a movie about him.
“I just think there’s so many stories that could be told about that man — some of the really tortured and darker stories, and some uplifting ones as well. What he did, what he accomplished. I’ve never really done a biopic about somebody.”
The ‘That’s Life’ singer has been brought to the screen previously, with Ray Liotta starring as Sinatra in the 1998 made-for-television movie ‘The Rat Pack’, James Russo portraying the musician in 2003’s ‘Stealing Sinatra’, Dennis Hopper playing him in ‘The Night We Call It a Day’ in 2003 and Robert Knepper portraying him in 2012’s ‘My Way’.
The ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ singer also made his way to the small screen in CBS’s 1992 miniseries ‘Sinatra’, where Philip Casnoff played the musician.
Marsden was most recently seen in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’, in which he portrayed the blue speedster’s human accomplice Tom Wachowski.
The movie follows Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tom (Marsden), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba) as they try to stop the powerful Shadow (Keanu Reeves) from destroying the world.
Having starred in all three ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ films and being likely to reprise his role for the upcoming fourth flick, Marsden emphasised he was grateful to be a part of such a successful franchise and stressed it was “rare” that movies like ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ get made today.
He told Collider: “It’s crazy. Also, I just feel like it’s rare that you get to make three of these movies anymore, where you do get a chance to do a sequel, let alone a third film. So, it really speaks to the fans, the popularity of the movie.”
The ‘Paradise’ star added the secret to the series’ popularity was the team’s dedication to the fans. He explained: “The writing, the passion, the performances. We’ve got a really special formula going on with these movies.
“But I think at the core of it, too, is we wanted to get it right for the fans because it is such an iconic character and a universe that you don’t want to mess around with. You want to get it right.”
James Marsden eyes Frank Sinatra biopic role
