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James Marsden has experienced plenty of highs throughout his career — breaking into the Marvel world as Cyclops, appearing in the Emmy-nominated “Jury Duty” and, perhaps our favorite, showing off his singing chops as crooner Corny Collins in “Hairspray.” But regardless of what we consider his most successful endeavor, one of Marsden’s personal standout moments has been partnering with his son, Jack, for their first-ever brand collaboration with The Macallan.

Back in June, the father-son duo teamed up for the brand’s “Drink of a Generation” campaign, which spotlighted The Macallan’s celebrated Sherry Oak 25 and 30 Year Old expressions. The pairing felt like a natural fit for Marsden, whose effortless sophistication and easy charisma align seamlessly with the luxury whiskey house’s elevated sensibility.

While the campaign was originally tied to Father’s Day, we think its message extends far beyond the holiday — highlighting how something as timeless as a great bottle of spirits, passed down from one generation to the next, can become a new kind of family tradition, bridging the past and present in the process. And who wouldn’t rather inherit a bottle of premium whiskey from their elders than, say, another mallard?

Founded in 1824 out of Scotland, The Macallan is one of the first names we turn to when we’re in the mood for a proper pour. It’s everything you want a whiskey to be: rich, complex, and aged to perfection, all housed in that instantly recognizable bottle. And while this marks Marsden’s inaugural partnership with The Macallan, it’s a coupling we’d happily see happen time and time again.

WWD sat down with Marsden to talk about the campaign, his special bond with his son, his style tips, and the things he values most in life.

Read the full interview below and find out how to bring a bottle of The Macallan into your own home, making it part of your newest keepsake collection.

The campaign centers around the idea of a drink of a generation. What are some traditions, values, or rituals that you’ve passed down to Jack and hope he carries forward?

My son is 25 now, but I remember when we first shared a drink together — it’s a very fun moment in my memory and was always over something special. One of our rituals is watching some of the Bond movies together, so we’d have a nice little drink whenever the next Bond movie came out.

As far as things I want to pass down, I think it’s just an appreciation of the experience of life, the human experience, what we go through, the challenges, and what you learn from them — that with mistakes comes growth. You can tie that to what goes into making these bottles of scotch, and how sometimes, with time, it allows the nicer things in life to come into full bloom.

[My advice is to] find things you have a shared love for. My son has a real passion for things that require a lot of artisanship and craftsmanship. We both play guitar, so we got into what makes a specific guitar special. We got into figuring out how to pull the perfect shot of espresso together. My appetite for learning about what makes something special has always been very high, and he has that same appreciation. So it’s nice that we have that to bond over — that we can share the learning experience and the actual experience of enjoying those things together.

What has surprised you the most about seeing his own tastes and interests evolve as an adult?

They’ve become more sophisticated and expensive, like his father, I guess. I’m seeing him learn to appreciate what can happen when somebody wants to create something unique, timeless, and special — and that thing becomes an expression of joy, something that triggers all of your senses. That could be a car, playing the piano or guitar, or sitting together having a sip of the Sherry Oak 30 Year Macallan and talking about its flavor profile — what I taste versus what he tastes. Not in a show-offy or competitive way, but really giving yourself the opportunity to experience these expressions and understanding why it gets your heart rate going.

It’s been interesting to see him mature that way, wanting to learn [about] the love that goes into these kinds of crafts.

What draws you to work with a brand like The Macallan? Why does it speak to you and your persona and how you view your career?

To me, Macallan has always been the benchmark for fine whiskey, fine scotch. I love the history and the legacy they have created over the years — there’s a level of sophistication and quality there. I’ve always been so much more interested in quality than in something that’s a trend because of TikTok. I’m way more interested in what makes a fine watch tick, how the movement works, and the time and energy spent in the engineering of that.

So when I think about working with Macallan, they represent that to me — the craftsmanship, the history, the generations, how it’s evolved over the years, and how certain things have stayed the same in the best way.

Whether it’s watches or whiskey, what do you think makes something worthy of becoming a family heirloom? Is there a box that has to be checked for you?

I think rarity — though that makes it sound like I’m a collector, and I’m not really. Time is the word I keep going back to — the time it takes, and the passion and focus that go into making these finer things, is what qualifies them as an heirloom. With watches, you want to feel like something is so special that it’s never really yours forever — it’s something to be shared with another generation.

When you think of heirlooms, you think: What do I actually want to pass down to my kids? 

What was it like to collaborate with Jack professionally? Your personal relationship is one thing, but this translated into something completely different.

It was great — talk about moments you’re going to remember forever; that was one of them. I thank Macallan for giving us that. In the campaign, we’re talking about shared experiences and moments where we came together and bonded over a glass of scotch, but this moment, being able to share the screen with him and share this campaign with him, is something we’ll always remember. 

Our readers are very interested in personal style. How has your approach to dressing and presenting yourself evolved over the years?

I’d say it’s devolved. Nowadays, I’m so much more function than form. My day-to-day has always been very simple and classic — jeans, T-shirt. I do care about what I look like when I go out in public, and I like to look nice, but I always believe it has to be tied to who you are: organic, so the clothes aren’t wearing you.

My stylist has always helped me stay classic and stay me, but with a little bit of flair. You can have a really nice suit tailored beautifully to you or a classic tuxedo and black bow tie, but dress it up a little with a pin or specific details. My style has always been very timeless, very classic. When I do get dressed up, I’m probably not the one setting the red carpet on fire, but I believe it has to be authentically you — you can stay elegant, stay classy, even be fashion-forward, and still be classic.

Of all the projects you’ve done, do you have a personal favorite?

“X-Men,” of course, was such a life-changing, career-changing moment for me, playing this iconic superhero. That was a big one. “Jury Duty,” because I was presenting myself in a way no one had ever seen — there was fear involved, but also complete inspiration. I was charged every day on set; the fear was actually giving me energy and fueling me creatively. That was a big moment in my career.

“Paradise” was a great one, one of my favorites — amazing people, a great experience. When I was younger, it was a lot of more youthful roles, and now that I’m older, it’s been nice to be given opportunities to play roles with a little more substance. “Paradise” is one of those. And “Hairspray” was just so much fun — it was a big party, and I got to sing and dance, which was satisfying in its own way.

I’m very proud of all of them.

Are there any rituals you had at the beginning of your career that you still incorporate today?

I guess one would be celebrating any time I booked a big job I thought was going to be really important to my career. Finding a nice glass of something and commemorating that moment. I did that with one of my biggest jobs back in 1999 or 2000: opening a nice bottle of something to pat yourself on the back a little. Well deserved — an Oklahoma kid who moved out here to be an actor, and no one thought that could happen, not even himself, and now it’s happening.

I’m not very good at treating myself. Don’t get too big for your britches, my mom would say. But I think it’s important to have those moments, to share them with the people you love. They become memories that last forever.

Then, when you have a glass of whiskey — a really nice bottle of Macallan, say — it conjures those memories, brings them back up, and you remember them forever. And if you share them with your son, he’ll remember them, too.