James Marsden is going for the movie-star thing.

"Most people are like, 'Didn't we go to high school together?"' said the 35-year-old actor, whose screen credits include "Superman Returns," "The Notebook" and three "X-Men" movies.

"In going for the movie-star thing, the lead-guy thing, I've managed to have this whole sidetrack thing going where I'm playing these silly roles and doing great, offbeat, different things," he said. "It was just to have fun being an actor, entertain yourself while you're going for the gold. There was the career path and the work path. And now the work path has sort of become the career path."