James Wesley Marsters was born in Greenville, California, USA, on August 20. His father used to be a minister and his mother almost became a nun. He grew up in Modesto, California and graduated from Davis High School. He says he has wanted to be an actor since he was in the fourth grade. He has one brother and one sister. He studied acting at the Juilliard School in New York (which he is proud to have been kicked out of after two years) and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. His early acting career was in Chicago. In 1990, he moved to Seattle in search of more opportunity and warmer winters. After a several years of artistic success in regional theater, James decided to go to Hollywood to seek the kind of success that actually pays the rent. In 1997, after having been in Los Angeles for some time and after "a hundred" auditions, he auditioned for the role of Spike in Season Two of the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." When he got the call, he said "Buffy the what?" but after watching the show he found that he wanted the part. After a second audition, he won the role, which was supposed to last for only three to five episodes. The character was such a success that the role was extended for the rest of the season. During Season Three, the character Spike was brought back for only one episode "Lover's Walk," but James was otherwise occupied with a role in the independant film "Winding Roads ." In Season Four, Spike became a regular character on "Buffy" with the occasional crossover to "Angel." Spike has become one of the best-loved characters on the show. He was a regular on "Buffy" until its series finale in May 2003.James' other credited roles so far include "Northern Exposure" roles in 1992-93, a role on "Millenium" in 1999, and a small part in the film "The House on Haunted Hill" in 1999. His most recent theater work was in "The Why" in Los Angeles in the fall of 2000. He has worked in two independant films (" Chance" and "The Enforcers") which have yet to be released, and guest-starred more recently on the television series "Andromeda" and "Strange Frequency." For the 2003-04 season, he will be a regular on "Angel." His other interests include music, painting, PlayStation and cars. He is in a band called "Ghost of the Robot," which frequently tours and which has released a CD.