Kids today might know James Marsden from Sonic the Hedgehog or Jury Duty, but I will always remember him as the dashing Lon Hammond from The Notebook.
With the iconic romance film celebrating its 20-year anniversary this year, Drew Barrymore couldn’t help but ask Marsden about it on this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.
“I don’t think we thought when we were making that movie that it was going to be what it became,” Marsden said, before playfully calling out his Sonic the Hedgehog 3 co-star Ben Schwartz for not seeing the movie.
Schwartz, who knew very little about The Notebook’s plot, confirmed, “I haven’t seen the movie yet. But I know there’s a notebook and rain. I know there’s a notebook, I know someone jumps into someone’s arms and it rains, right? I mean, I think that’s every romantic comedy.”
Based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel of the same name, The Notebook follows the years-long love story of Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) and Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling). Marsden played Lon, the parent-approved man Allie meets while working as an army nurse during World War II. They get engaged, but she ultimately calls off the wedding when she reconnects with Noah years after their split.
Barrymore described Lon as “the best guy” who is “so nice” and “almost doesn’t exist.”
“Yeah, and she dumps him,” Marsden reminded the talk show host.
That major spoiler shocked Schwartz, who then asked, “You’re the person that she leaves? Wow. The other guy must be real hot.”
When Marsden told him who played the other guy (Gosling), Schwartz joked, “Then I get it.”
Over the last two decades, The Notebook has cemented itself as one of most iconic romance films of all time. Following its release, it won all eight of its nominations at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards. The flick also won the “Best Kiss” award at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, where McAdams and Gosling famously recreated their iconic kissing-in-the-rain scene from the movie.
The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.
