James Marsden on His Character Feeling Trapped in "Heights:" “I think that as much of all of us would like it to be very black and white, I think we're really complex creatures and capable of a lot of nuances. Maybe you can be in love with two different people in two different ways. Maybe we might have the capacity to be able to do that. Is that a good thing? I don't know. But I just think we're really complex creatures and we don't always make the right decision.”
Speaking of Flawed Characters…: Marsden portrays Cyclops in the “X-Men” movie franchise, and will hopefully be returning for “X-Men 3.” “What are his flaws? Jealousy. In the comic — and we never really got into it in the movie, but he's very insecure about his power and felt responsible for anything that would ever go wrong, because he was the leader of the group and felt that he was damned because of this mutant power. So insecurity I guess is a flaw. But all of the mutants felt like they were inadequate or different because of these mutations, so they all think that's their flaw. It's Professor X's teaching at the school that says this isn't a flaw and we should embrace this — embrace people for their differences and learn not to hate and learn to have the tolerance.”
James Marsden on the “X-Men 3” Director Changes: “Well, I've all the confidence in the world in Fox and the director they deem worthy of directing ‘X-Men 3.’ Sure, it's getting down the line, getting close to we gotta make this movie, but we've done two before and there's a comfort zone there where we all feel like we've done it and we can do it again. And I think that Brett Ratner is directing now. Matthew Vaughn fell out for personal reasons, family reasons or something, Brett Ratner is directing and he's a very competent director and will be fine.”
The Direction of “X-Men 3:” “Oh, I wouldn't be able to comment on that because I don't know that's all for sure. I don't know where he goes. I don't know anything about the script, to tell you the truth.”
The Differences Between Working on the “X-Men” Movies with Director Bryan Singer and Singer's “Superman Returns:” “There's a lot of similarities, that's for sure. Bryan just by nature likes to work with people he's worked with before and who he feels comfortable around. So it's strange because we're in Australia, surrounded by a lot of the same people who worked on the’ X-Men’ films, yet we're dealing with a movie about a guy with an S on his chest and a great cape. So it's fun and exciting and in many ways it's more comfortable to be playing a normal human being.”
Marsden on Special Effects and How Production’s Going on “Superman Returns:” Marsden said there’s maybe even more effects in “Superman Returns” than there were in the “X-Men” movies. “We're actually in the middle of shooting. I actually didn't think I was going to be here [for the ‘Heights’ press junket]. I got a break in the schedule for a month and a half. Kevin Spacey comes in to play Lex Luther.”
James Marsden on Richard White’s Storyline in “Superman Returns:” Marsden isn’t at liberty to discuss what really happens to his character in “Superman Returns.” “I can't talk about all of that because they make you sign this very lengthy [contract]. All I can say is that it's a great role. Superman's gone for a little while. He comes back to find — in Bryan Singer's words, Lois Lane picks somebody who's very Supermanesque, and there's a lot of similarities. So Lois Lane is engaged to this guy and they have a child together,” said Marsden, adding “…it is emotionally a challenge for Superman to come back and see.”
So Superman’s Emotionally Challenged?: “Yeah, because Lois moves on with her life and she's with somebody else.”
Marsden’s Involvement in Love Triangles Onscreen: In "Heights," "X-Men," "The Notebook," and now in "Superman Returns," the characters Marsden plays all seem to get themselves tangled up in love triangles. But Marsden claims that’s something he doesn’t seek out. “I guess in the last couple of movies it's been part of the dynamic, but at some point you go, ‘ Well, am I not going to do a $200 million movie with Bryan Singer directing because of a dynamic that may be similar to what I've done before?’”
Marsden’s Busy Filming Schedule: After promoting “Heights,” Marsden will be heading back to Australia. “Yeah, I go back in August and I work for like for two weeks and then ‘X-Men 3’ is starting right around then.”
Plans for Shooting “X-Men 3:” “They're shooting it in Vancouver again. They're gearing up as we speak — casting and getting everything settled.”
