Actors Give Accutane Trial Star Power of Its Own

March 28, 2011, 5:00PM. By Gordon Gibb

Atlantic City, NJNothing beats star power. To that end, the appearance of actors like Martin Sheen during an Accutane trial involving another actor serves to give what might otherwise be a mundane trial—and the alleged adverse reactions to Accutane acne medication some star power of its own.

Star power aside, the Accutane trial reveals the sad story of a man described as enjoying a promising career, only to have that career cut short following the use of Accutane to combat acne. James Marshall, an actor who appeared in the movie A Few Good Men, suffers from Accutane inflammatory bowel disease. The eventual removal of his colon has turned Marshall into a shell of the man he once was.

Marshall testified previously that he visits the restroom up to 20 times a day, and is effectively a prisoner of his own home. He can no longer work as an actor.

Marshall, together with two other plaintiffs, is suing Roche Holding AG, claiming that the Accutane drug—no longer on the market—caused his IBD. Roche pulled Accutane off the market in 2009, claiming at the time that the move was to stem the tide of Accutane lawsuits while not admitting to any deficiencies with the drug. Accutane is still available in generic form.

Actor Brian Dennehey appeared in court in early March to testify on Marshall's behalf, while Sheen appeared by video conferencing two weeks later. In his testimony, Sheen noted that he had known Marshall since he was a child, having had a long-standing friendship with Marshall's father. He told jurors from California that Marshall "was a pretty serious movie star. He had a very unique talent that permitted him to go to that place where all artists try to go, that extremely personal place."

Marshall played Louden Downey, a US Marine in A Few Good Men alongside Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. He also appeared in the TV series Twin Peaks, and the movie Gladiator, among others. Sheen testified that Marshall was destined for serious stardom, until Accutane IBD resulted in the removal of his colon.

Sheen testified that Marshall's rise to stardom was stymied following the result of Accutane side effects, and there was an impact after he developed Accutane IBD.

"There was a very dramatic change in his physicality," Sheen said. "He was extremely thin. There was a marked difference in his personality. He was not as gregarious or fun-loving or as social as I remembered him. He was withdrawn in a lot of ways." After the colon surgery, Sheen said, Marshall "looked very wan, very thin, and kind of wasted." Asked if the situation hurt his career, Sheen replied, "Absolutely. There's no question about that."

Marshall, with the help of Accutane lawyers, is suing Roche for $11 million.