“My agent sent me the script and the way I work with my agent, they'll send me scripts and they prioritize them as far as what they think is going to be good and what they think is — you know. So this had a big mark on it — like, ‘Read it, it's good.’ So I read it immediately. So that was how I got the project. They sent it to me and I read it and I called Chris and said, ‘I have a stack of scripts at home and this is the one that I couldn't put down and can't stop thinking about.’
There were some other great guy roles in that movie, and it's rare you get the sense that something's going to be really special. I just felt strongly enough about the project that I said, very whorishly, ‘I'll do anything in this movie. (laughs) I'll play any role.”
The Quality of the Supporting Cast: “I think it's a testament to the script. I think it's a testament to Merchant Ivory. They've got a pretty strong batting average for quality work. It's a big ensemble piece and the talent they were able to get together for this film is pretty astounding. …There's lots of surprises and it just shows that great actors and actresses want to be on board this because they feel like this is going to be something special.
[When I] think of Merchant Ivory, I think of elegant. I think the films that they have made have an elegance to them and — I sound like I'm using that word too much — but my ears perked up immediately when I knew that they were producing this. Five years ago, if someone were to ask me do you ever see yourself in a Merchant Ivory film, I would [say], ‘That would be great, but I doubt it.’ So I was very excited to hear that they were producing it. And it was great to see them do something that was contemporary and present day in New York. They usually do period films set in England or Paris. I think Ismail [Merchant] said that after 9/11 he wanted to do something set in modern-day New York. But if you just look at their films, they're very elegant filmmakers.”
James Marsden and Religion: Marsden’s character is Jewish, his bride-to-be in the movie isn’t, and the religious differences are a major plotline in the film. Marsden himself is not Jewish and admits that was one of his concerns when he read the script. Marsden said, “Obviously Jonathan was the character I really responded to. But when I sat down with Chris, I was so taken with the script and the story and everything, and how elegant the whole thing was, that I said, ‘I'll play any of these roles. Wherever you see most fit to put me in this movie, I'd be happy to be a part of it.’ And I said, ‘I don't know about Jonathan because I'm not Jewish.’ He said, ‘No, it's actually good because you're like Gwyneth Paltrow proclaiming her Jewish background — and Kate Hudson and all these…so it's good that you don't look Jewish.’ Then it kind of plays in the Rabbi's office — the back and forth. I like Christmas lights and she's not Jewish and does not like them…”
Passing Judgment on His Character in “Heights:” “I try to look at the characters that I play without judgment [and] with understanding. I try to understand what's going on with them. I wish I could say that it would be interesting for me to play characters that are not flawed, that always make the right decisions, but that's not really interesting to me.”
Marsden Analyzes His Character and Comparisons to the Love Triangle in “The Notebook:” While both “Heights” and “The Notebook” are ultimately love stories, the two films don’t share many other attributes. “The tone of 'The Notebook' is a different tone from this movie. But I like how real it felt to see somebody going through this and maybe being challenged with the idea of coming clean. [spoiler deleted] If somebody is hiding something that they don't necessarily even understand, they can suppress that at the expense of their sanity and their happiness so that they don't hurt somebody else.
I think that's where Jonathan's coming from. I think that because there's a part of him who's attracted to this other person, but there is a part of him that honestly wants to be with this woman. He wants to want to be with this woman, and I think he feels that if he shuts his eyes and just kind of lets it ride for a while that it will just go away. He feels like it's unfair to him, ‘Why have I been dealt this hand of — I'm attracted to two different people?’ And I don't know, it just feels very real to me.”
PAGE 2: James Marsden on Cyclops, "X-Men 3," and "Superman Returns" with Bryan Singer
