James Marsden and Stephen Colbert Compare High School Yearbook Photos

Plus, the Westworld actor does his best Matthew McConaughey impression on The Late Show

By Zach Johnson Nov 23, 2016 12:45 PMTags

Anyone with eyes can see James Marsden is a good-looking dude.

And on CBS' The Late Show Tuesday, Stephen Colbert complimented the Westworld actor on a recent honor that made it official. "GQ has named you the World's Most Handsomest Man," he said. "First of all, does that come with anything? Is there a medal or cash prize, or do you just get to keep your face?" Hamming it up, Marsden smoldered at the camera and feigned humility. "No, it's just my lot. It's just a burden," he said. "It's just an albatross around my neck."

"As a teenager, were you a stud growing up?" Colbert asked.

"I was not," Marsden insisted. "I was sort of a theater geek."

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Celebrity Yearbook Photos

Colbert challenged Marsden by pulling out a photo from the actor's time as a student at Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City. Only a few audience members cheered, which made Marsden chuckle. "That took some convincing," he said. With Colbert still in disbelief, the 43-year-old actor added, "You picked the best photo of me in my high school yearbook."

"Would you like to see the best photo of me from high school?" Colbert asked. With the photos side by side, Marsden looked far more attractive. "We're safe to say that is pre-Photoshop," Marsden said. As for his own photo, Colbert joked, "Evidently, it's pre-color film."

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Looks aren't everything—and they certainly didn't help Marsden in the romance department. "I was goofy. I was in theater. I was the guy who was probably a little too enthusiastic to be playing Hugo Peabody in Bye Bye Birdie," the actor confessed. "I probably may have confused some of the girls in high school. The girls would be like, 'I don't know what he prefers just yet.'"

"I was kind of goofy. I would come to school and do Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy bits," he said. "I would memorize all their stand-up comedy. I'd do that and I would do impersonations."

 

"Do you do impressions?" Colbert asked.

"Not, like, on the spot," Marsden said.

With some prodding, though, he agreed to do one: Matthew McConaughey.

"You can't just do the 'alright, alright' thing anymore, because it's like everyone can do it," he explained. "But what you've got to do is throw in a little Texas whistle in there with those s's."