Co-star of "Gossip"

May 20, 2000

CheckOut.com presents actor James Marsden who discusses his film, “Gossip.” Starring opposite Kate Hudson, Marsden, who portrays a manipulative gossip who purposely starts a rumor to gauge its outcome, talks to fans about his role, favorite movie idols, and future projects.

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CheckOut.com: Welcome to a chat with actor James Marsden to discuss his latest film, "Gossip," a drama co-starring Kate Hudson and Norman Reedus. Welcome, James!

James Marsden: Thank you very much for having me today. I'm very excited to be here. Hopefully everyone will rush out and go see "Gossip" this weekend. It's a good movie!

Atlantean: How were you first approached to star in "Gossip," and what were the deciding elements leading to you acceptance of the role?

James Marsden: I had read the script and really enjoyed reading it. It was a character that I never played before and a character opposite my own personality. For me, it is like my career objective is to keep people on their toes and always change it up and keep it interesting, to try and play a character I've never played before. I auditioned and, thank God, Davis Guggenheim saw what he needed to see and we were off to Toronto!

HockeyPuck: Which role do you play in the movie?

James Marsden: I play Derrick Webb, one of the three roommates who start a false rumor about this girl Naomi, played by Kate Hudson. The point is to create a false rumor and track it and see how it evolves as people tell the story and document it on tape for a school project. Of the three roommates, I play the kind of slimy manipulator of the three, the one who instigates the whole project.

HockeyPlayer: Was the movie made for any kind of anniversary?

James Marsden: No, it was not. Neither one of them were made for an anniversary.

Favorites: What for you were the most and least challenging aspects of your performance in "Gossip"?

James Marsden: The most challenging aspect was (it's hard talking about the film without giving too much away) that this character that I played is the man behind the madness and I didn't want to play it as your typical highbrow villain, so the director and I thought to give this character depth, we were going to try to make him as sympathetic and charming and likable as possible, so at the end when you are supposed to hate him, you have a hard time hating him. You feel sympathy for him. The least challenging aspect was probably looking as grungy as I do in the movie.

CO-spaz: What brought you into acting?

James Marsden: I was in drama class in high school and was always involved in productions like musicals and school plays. I've always been a big film buff and I just always thought that would be the ultimate career. When I tried college and found nothing there to interest me, I moved to L.A. and, thank God, got with a legitimate manager who was sending me out on four auditions a day. And I started booking jobs.

Sallysue: Do you have any funny stories from the set of "Gossip"?

James Marsden: Everybody loves gossip from the set of "Gossip," don't they? The director, Davis Goggenheim, would always pull pranks on the actors to get us in the emotional state that we needed to be in. There was one scene I needed to be riled up with my heart pumping and he came over to me and shoved me - he actually slapped me in the face. So I picked him up and body-slammed him on the floor - all in good fun. And we laughed! And he yelled, "Action!" Sometimes he would throw oranges at us just to keep the set fun.

CO-imspacey: What is the goofiest job you have been forced to do - like in your early days in L.A.?

James Marsden: I still wish I could say that I was Goofy at Disneyland in a cute suit for $5 an hour, but since I haven't.I was lucky enough to never have to embarrass myself in a Kookooru outfit. Of course, that worked for Brad Pitt apparently. But as soon as I got here, I started getting acting jobs. Thank God, I never had to do anything goofy.

CO-imspacey: What will your next movie be?

James Marsden: A film directed by John Badham called "Ocean Warrior." It's a true story about the man who founded Greenpeace and who was notorious for ramming whaling vessels with his own boat. It will start shooting in August. It will be shot in Malta and Amsterdam.

FAN 310: Out of all the roles you have played, which one is most like you?

James Marsden: I would say.it is hard for me to answer that question because I don't know that I've ever played anything close to myself. I've always tried to inject something about my personality into the character, so in a sense they have all been kind of close to me. But like in "Gossip," I'm really different from that character, so I would say maybe my role in this TV series I did, "Second Noah," probably. I sang on the show. I played the guitar, which is one of my hobbies in real life. I don't have a son, though, like the character did.

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