James Marsden Dishes on Working With Michael Keaton in 'Knox Goes Away' | THR Video - video Dailymotion

The Hollywood Reporter

James Marsden talks about the fan reaction to 'Jury Duty' and how this was a surreal moment for him. Plus, he tells THR about his new film 'Knox Goes Away' with Michael Keaton while on the Spirit Awards red carpet.

Transcript

00:00 I feel like we're now at the end of the jury duty ride, maybe a little bit.

00:04 It does feel a little bittersweet.

00:06 Yeah, yeah. I mean, first of all, you took a risk by doing this, people like to say,

00:10 but you knocked it out of the park and got some nominations along the way.

00:14 Now that you've had a few more months to digest and make the rounds with this thing,

00:18 what stands out to you the most about this experience?

00:22 I mean, for me, it's just the show or the performance or the project that I would never have anticipated

00:31 getting this kind of attention for, nominations, globes, Emmys, all this,

00:36 was something that felt like a sort of backyard experiment you do with your friends.

00:42 And I just never thought that this would be the one that would get me those nominations.

00:49 I'm still just sort of, you know, a little upside down about, you know,

00:54 wow, this is the thing after all the-- and playing myself.

00:58 It's very surreal. It's always surreal when you get this sort of attention and people are just--

01:03 you know, you recognize the impact that a special project has on the community and the world or whatever,

01:09 but jury duty was just such-- I mean, I'd never been a part of something

01:12 that was just shot into the stratosphere so quickly and just hit.

01:18 It feels good, you know. I don't know how to--

01:21 you know, like you spent 30 years learning how to be an actor.

01:25 Now you're like, was I doing that in this show?

01:28 Like, this is the thing I'm getting attention for.

01:30 But today I'm excited for all the other cast members because it's an ensemble.

01:35 Yeah, it was such a group effort. It wasn't anybody, just one show.

01:39 And a lot of these people who just hadn't really had that much experience yet,

01:43 and they get to come here and celebrate it.

01:45 And it really wouldn't have worked unless all the sort of links matched up.

01:49 I don't know. It was a nice-- we got really lucky.

01:53 We got lucky with him as well.

01:55 You deserve it. And then the last question for you is you've got to go with Michael Keaton.

01:58 Tell me about working with Michael Keaton.

02:00 Yeah, yeah. So I did this film with Michael.

02:02 I play his son, and he's an aging hitman who's losing his memory quickly.

02:08 But it's him and Al Pacino and Marcia Gay Harden and just like one of these dream jobs.

02:13 And, yeah, it's great to be, one, sharing the screen with him

02:16 and also being directed by him. He directed the film as well.

02:19 So pretty special and, again, one of those sort of career pinch-yourself moments.

02:25 What did you learn by watching Michael Keaton work or being directed by him?

02:29 Boy, you don't have to overdo it.

02:32 You just got to keep it real, keep it real.

02:34 Sometimes the worst thing you can do as an actor is muscle your way through a scene.

02:39 And you know if you're doing that, it's usually not going to end up in the right place.

02:43 But there's an effortless to him and an honesty to everything he does.

02:49 And it's just when you're around it, through osmosis, you sort of absorb it.

02:54 Or at least I think I do.

02:57 And it just kind of makes your game that much better and makes the scene come alive.

03:02 And he's just a special, gifted human being.

03:04 And really caring and kind.

03:07 Getting directed by an actor is always something I look forward to.

03:12 I don't know, something special.

03:13 Somebody who gets it, gets all the imposter syndrome, "I'm a fraud," "I suck," "I got to quit."

03:19 Everyone feels that way.

03:21 And to see your heroes doing it, I don't know, it's just--it was cool.

03:27 He humanized the whole process of being an actor.

03:29 an actor.

03:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]

James Marsden Dishes on Working With Michael Keaton in 'Knox Goes Away' | THR Video

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