James Marsden Remembers Being 'in Love' with Neve Campbell During Short Stint onParty of Five

Mar. 15, 2025

James Marsden, Neve Campbell.Photo:Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty; Monica Schipper/Getty

Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty; Monica Schipper/Getty

James Marsdenmight have played it cool, but he was definitely crushing onNeve Campbellwhen they worked together onParty of Five.

Marsden only appeared on the series once — in the season 1 finale as Griffin Holbrook, the boyfriend to Campbell’s Julia Salinger — but he looks back fondly on the experience given the fact that he was admittedly in love with the actress at the time.

“Were you in love with Neve like I was?“Dax Shepardasked theParadisestar, 51, on the Feb. 3 episode ofArmchair Expert.

“Yeah, of course,” he admitted, before reflecting on his brief stint on the show that made a name for Campbell, 51.

“She was watching me drink out of a water fountain, and I, like, walked towards her in a sort of sexy, menacing way, or I was trying to be sexy. I’m like, this is not me,” Marsden recalled.

The role felt likeParty of Five"trying to do whatMy So-Called Lifewas doing at the time withJared Leto—a brooding, mysterious-looking guy. I was like, okay, well, I guess I gotta get my Jared Leto impression down.”

James Marsden and Scott Wolf in ‘Party of Five’ season 1 finale (1996).Columbia Pictures Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection

Columbia Pictures Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection

Marsden only ended up starring as Griffin “for that one episode, but the character was meant to be a regular. And in fact, he was a regular. But what happened was, after I did that episode, my other show got picked up, and I couldn’t do it.”

The other show in question wasSecond Noah,whichhe starred in alongside Daniel Hugh Kelly. When it was picked up for a season 2, he couldn’t continue as Griffin inParty of Five, soJeremy Londontook over the role — which ended up spanning several seasons.

Campbell, who played one of the five Salinger siblings, who were left to grow up on their own after losing their parents in a car accident, recently told PEOPLE thatthe show’s cast is “all still pretty tight” 30 years after its premiere.

“We played brothers and sisters and siblings, who’ve gone through a really traumatic time. And it was deep stuff in that show, big questions that the audiences were going along with us on. But we were living that every day.”

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She’s also stayed close with Michael Goorjian, who played Justin Thompson, and is now godfather toher sons Caspian and Raynor, who he shares with her partnerJJ Feild.

“He’s one of our best friends,” she said.

source: people.com