Marsden was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 3, 1975, to Linda (née Williams), and Myles Marsden (1936–2019).[2][1][3] Linda was a former fashion model and Myles was a former premier danseur of the Yugoslav National Ballet.[4][1][5] He has three older half-siblings from his father's first marriage to Croatian dancer Ivanka Herci Munitic: Ana Fox (née Marsden), ballet dancer Richard Anton "Rick" Marsden, and Mark Marsden.[6][7][8][9]
Career
In 1986, Marsden got his first professional acting job as the character A. J. Quartermaine, in the television series General Hospital. In 1987, at the age of twelve, Marsden booked his first major film role in a science fiction movie called Robot Jox, which was released two years after filming because of the studio's financial problems and inevitable bankruptcy at the time. This was followed soon afterwards by the role of Eddie Munster in the TV series remake of The Munsters titled The Munsters Today. At the same time, he also had his first voice acting role in a cartoon, that of Cavin in the later seasons of the Disney TV series Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, as well as being the young announcer of the (new) Mickey Mouse Club and Disney Infomercials.
Marsden continued his career with many guest star appearances on prime time sitcoms. In 1990, he was the voice of Peter Pan in Peter Pan and the Pirates, which ran for two seasons and in 1992, he landed the role of Dash X in Eerie, Indiana.
Some other on-camera roles were that of Rich Halke (J.T's best friend) in Step by Step, which was from 1995 until the show's cancellation in 1998; and Nelson Burkhard (D.J.'s rich boyfriend) in Full House, though after making a commitment with Dragon Con, Marsden did not reprise his role as Nelson in the sequel Fuller House instead Hal Sparks (who actually replaced Marsden as Tak in Tak and the Power of Juju series based on the 2003 video game of the same name) took over the role as Nelson. On Boy Meets World the part of "Jason" was written for him by show's creator/producer Michael Jacobs, whom Jason had worked with previously on the short-lived reboot of The Torkelsons called Almost Home. When it was time for Mr. Feeny (Played by William Daniels) to address "Jason" the writers thought it might be funny if he called Jason by his real last name. Jason agreed, and thus Eric Matthews' best friend "Jason Marsden" was played by Jason Marsden, after his departure from Boy Meets World after finishing Season 2, his character was replaced by Jack Hunter (Played by Matthew Lawrence) in Seasons 5-7. He played the young Burt Ward/Robin in the 2002 television movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. In 1999, he was featured in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Tarzan as a member of the gorilla family, a role given by the film's director, Kevin Lima, who also helmed A Goofy Movie.
Since Step by Step, Marsden has provided voices for numerous animated television shows and computer games. He did the voice of Kovu in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and narrated many of the special features on the Lion King Special edition DVD. He was the voice of Haku in the American dub of Spirited Away (2001). He has also provided the voice of Richie Foley/Gear in the television series Static Shock. In Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, he voiced several characters, most notably Lilarcor the talking sword, and the druid Cernd.
In 2014, he voiced Sumo and Belson in the pilot episode of the Cartoon Network animated series Clarence. After this episode, the voices of Sumo and Belson were handed to Tom Kenny and Roger Craig Smith, respectively.
In 2020, Marsden began producing an online web series for YouTube called The Mars Variety Show. Following the style of The Dean Martin Show, it features Indie musicians, comedians, and alternative performers.[11]
Personal life
Marsden married Christy Hicks in October 2004. In 2020 they divorced after 16 years of marriage.[12][13] Their son was born on February 10, 2010.[12][13][14] Marsden lives in Nashville, Tennessee.[15]
In 2005, Marsden and Hicks opened up a Yoga studio in Burbank, California, entitled, "Yoga Blend" which relocated to bigger location in 2007.[16][13][17] In March 2020, "Yoga Blend" was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and closed permanently on December 30, 2020, due to financial issues.[18][19]
In 2020, Marsden revealed he has a girlfriend during an interview for a YouTube series.[20]