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 James Marsden
Spotlight By: Rocco Passafuime
James Marsden has the lucrative position of become a rising star in Hollywood, yet still remaining anonymous enough to pursue more challenging roles outside of the studio system. He has become most recognizable for his role as the superhero Cyclops in the successful X-Men movie and its even more successful sequel X2: X-Men United. However, he’s gained increased visibility in films like the summer’s surprise hit The Notebook and independent films like The 24th Day. Now, Marsden’s latest film is the independent drama Heights. Adapted from the stage to the screen by playwright Amy Fox, the story tells of five different New Yorkers who at various points interconnect with each other and must make tough choices in their lives before daybreak. James plays Jonathan, a married lawyer, who must confront his conflicting feelings between his wife Isabel, played by Elizabeth Banks, and actor Alec, played by Jesse Bradford. While most people would believe that his choosing of this role was a conscious departure from doing studio films, he says that’s not the case. “I wish I could say it was all me in going and planning everything,” Marsden recalls, “But really, my agent sent me the script and put a big mark on it and they were always told to prioritize for me when they send scripts, like, read this one, it’s good. So my ears immediately perked up when reading the script. I just felt like it was really something special and it was a great ensemble with really rich characters and it felt very honest and real and challenging and flawed and all those good adjectives.” “I met with [director] Chris [Terrio],” he adds, “And I told him I had a stack of scripts at home and yours is the one I couldn’t put down and can’t stop thinking about and I want to be a part of it, so I’ll play any of these characters. I said that. I’ve never said that before. I want to be a part of this movie.” He told us what ultimately persuaded him to choose the role of Jonathan. “[Chris] said what do you think about Jonathan,” Marsden recalls, “And I said, well, Jonathan’s great, and it was the character I responded to the most, but I don’t know if I can play Jewish. And he’s like, ‘No, it’s actually great. I want somebody who doesn’t look Jewish because it’s just kind of a dig at the Gwenyth Paltrows and Kate Hudsons, these sort of people who are Jewish but don’t really look Jewish.’” James notes that despite Heights being a low-budget independent film, he was impressed by the amount of flexibility given to the cast. “As preparation goes, we were really lucky though,” he recounts, “On a small budget film like this, to have the luxury of going into a film for about two weeks before it and rehearse, it’s great. Especially on a picture like this where it’s so character-driven, you have to go in ... |
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