James Marsden has had steady success since he left Oklahoma State University in the early 1990s to pursue an acting career. His work in projects ranging from musicals to action films to comedies has given him career longevity and kept him from being typecast in spite of his blue eyes and leading man looks. He recently talked with the Stillwater News Press about how he got his start in the business and his newest project.

Q: The story we hear is that you and your family were on vacation and you met Kirk Cameron and his sister Candace and that they encouraged you to come out and visit in L.A. and that was part of what got you out there. Is that correct?

Marsden: That’s exactly right. It was a sort of convergence of me discovering theater and what it feels like to be on stage at 15-16 years old, middle school, high school, and feeling pretty good at it, at least enjoying it and at the same time I was on vacation in Hawaii and I stayed at the same hotel as the Cameron family…We exchanged numbers, kept in touch and they invited me out to come stay with them and watch a taping of “Full House” and “Growing Pains” and I thought, “Wow, what a cool lifestyle this would be.” I already had the bug for performing and then on top of it that was my dream to be in TV and film. So I kept in touch with them and they encouraged me to come out and give it a shot…Otherwise I would have stayed in Stillwater and probably gotten my degree.

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Westworld hosts truly have the most.

The android denizens of the futuristic Wild West theme park have mental and physical skills superior to those of mere mortals, but they’re also subject to the whims — ranging from rudeness to murder — of the human guests who visit.

Actors in HBO’s sci-fi hit, returning for a second season April 22 (9 ET/PT), might wish they could use superior artificial intelligence when trying to keep up with the changeable personalities of their lifelike android characters, not to mention the varying timelines.

“I think we were all, after a while, just surrendering to the fact that we didn’t exactly know what was going on at all times,” says Evan Rachel Wood, who toggles between two host personalities, sweet Dolores and vengeful Wyatt.

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James Marsden is pretty hard to miss.

Some may remember him as Scott Summers/Cyclops from the “X-Men” movies, while others love him for portraying Corny Collins—and showcasing his singing talent—in “Hairspray,” and Prince Edward in “Enchanted.” This actor, who played the lead in the 1998 science fiction horror film “Disturbing Behavior,” is the same guy who now plays Teddy Flood in the HBO Series “Westworld.”

In an interview with Super, the 44-year-old actor enthusiastically talked about some of the greatest milestones in his career.

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What do you do when Hollywood hero James Marsden walks up to your table to say hello? Or better still, shakes hands as well as a cocktail for you? The big dilemma here is between pinching yourself into believing you are not dreaming, and admiring that stunning pair of deep-set light blue eyes (almost like jewels) and those chiselled cheekbones without spilling the drink or the food in your mouth!

Such a dream-like scenario touched base with reality when Marsden flew to New Delhi from Manila last week. “It’s my first visit to Delhi,” announced the affable actor who visited Mumbai for a few days in 2014 to promote his film The Best Of Me (2014).

Marsden, I discover during our chat, is blessed with a great sense of humour, the sort that instantly puts anyone at ease. Before you know it, you’re chuckling at his witty repartee. Add to that his love for spicy Indian food and desire to spend time in India, and you have the recipe for the perfect conversation in place!

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“My children are overwhelmingly underwhelmed that I have been in the X-Men series, or maybe they don’t want it to get to my head,” said Hollywood actor James Marsden, to the media in New Delhi. Marsden, known for his roles in the X-Men series, 27 Dresses, and The Notebook was on a two-city tour as Diageo’s global ambassador and was in the Capital for the International Scotch Day celebrations on February 8. With a career roughly spanning 25 years, Marsden, 44, spoke about choosing his roles, the TV drama Westworld, and how he isn’t smart enough to know if AI will take over. Excerpts:

You come from a middle-class family in Oklahoma, and began your career in the performing arts.

I enjoyed being on the stage, singing and acting in musicals. For me, it was more about self discovery. I loved that I could inhabit other characters. I know that acting is not typical Oklahoma profession — there is a big art scene there — but we were raised to think that’s not realistic. My parents were very supportive, and I moved to Los Angeles, kind of on a whim. I think I was naive to the point of being overtly confident to the point where you think that everything is possible and you want to see how far you can fall.

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Actor James Marsden says it would be a great opportunity if his popular “X-Men” character Cyclops would get his own spin-off series.

The 44-year-old actor, who played Scott Summers, a mutant who could generate concussive force red-colored beams from his eyes, said the Marvel Universe has multiple characters that have great content to develop individual movies.

“I think that that could happen. I wouldn’t be the one to decide. Who’s playing the role or how old he is. Tye Sheridan (in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse) did a nice job playing me 20 years ago. But I think what’s great about the ‘X-Men’ Universe is that there are 50 odd different sagas and storylines that you could really do spinoffs with any of these characters.

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New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) Hollywood actor James Marsden, known for playing dashing cowboy Teddy Flood in “Westworld” — a popular TV series that is geared up for its second season this year — says the television space is going through a renaissance wherein people are ready to take risks with content.

“I think now television is (in) a renaissance. There is so much good work out there that you can see people do much more and they are also ready to take more risks and a lot more stories are being told… even bold ones,” Marsden told IANS during his visit to the capital, where he was part of Diageo India’s celebration of International Scotch Day.

“There is a great variety in movies and in television and through the years, you can see a great evolution in the kind of roles and stories people are telling,” added the actor.

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Actor James Marsden says working on the sets of the “27 Dresses” was like a celebration for him.

The 44-year-old actor said he shared a great tuning with the female lead, Katherine Heigl, which was instrumental in the film’s popularity.

“27 Dresses” recently completed its 10 years and Heigl had said working on the film felt like a “college” experience to her.

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Westworld is poised to return to HBO in 2018, and James Marsden, who plays dashing cowboy Teddy Flood, says fans can expect the second season to be “so much bigger.”

“You will not be disappointed,” he tells EW. “The world that we created will be completely expanded upon, and the themes and the philosophies will all be taken to the next degree. The one thing I can say is that it just feels so much bigger this year. There’s a bigger cast, we’re shooting sometimes three units at once, whereas the first season it was always just one unit so the scope of the whole thing has definitely grown.”

Not much is known about the highly anticipated second season beyond the action-packed teaser that was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con — and Marsden urged fans not to hunt for more.

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