MANILA, Philippines — Hollywood actor James Marsden arrived in Manila to sit down with us, as he took a step back from his Hollywood responsibilities to discuss his poison of choice (although, as Westworld fans, we were definitely tempted to ask). “I find that when I’m looking at a drink menu and I’m confused about what to have, I can always default to scotch,” he says. (For those who may want to send him a drink at the bar, Marsden’s preferred way of enjoying scotch is with just a little bit of room-temperature water. You’re welcome.)

A true scotch enthusiast, Marsden doesn’t find that he has a single favorite; rather, each occasion calls for a different scotch. “It depends on my mood. I tend to jump back and forth between my mood and my atmosphere. If it’s dark and fire-lit, I would go with a Lagavulin. If it’s a sunny day, I’d go for a Singleton. And if I felt like throwing in some mixers, I’d definitely go with Johnnie Walker. They all have different characteristics and flavor profiles, so it’s a bit like picking your favorite color.”

He says that while he doesn’t have a distinctive first memory of his experience with scotch, he remembers exactly when it was an important drink to have. “I booked the role of Cyclops and celebrated with my manager at the time with a very nice glass of scotch. I don’t remember what it was, but I do know that it was not that affordable,” Marsden says with a small smile.

Read More

Jimmy attended the press conference for “Westworld” Season 2 at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills on March 13, 2018. I’ve uploaded 7 HQ photos to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
Photoshoot Outtakes > Photocalls > [2016.07.28]”Westworld” Press Conference (HQ)

I’ve uploaded 41 HQ photos from 2018 SXSW to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2018 Appearances > [2018.03.10]Westworld Showrunners Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy with Cast – 2018 SXSW Conference and Festivals (HQ)

The Westworld fun won’t stop taking over SXSW. First, there was that immersive experience, then there was the reveal of Shogun World at the panel, and now, series stars Evan Rachel Wood and James Marsden are kicking off the filming for the second season of Carpool Karaoke.

The official Twitter account of the popular Apple Music program sent out a video featuring the actors from the HBO drama getting ready to film a driving-and-singing segment around Austin. The two can be seen attempting to keep cool in the warm Texas weather while doing their “red leather, yellow leather” vocal warm-ups in preparation for their stellar in-car performance.

This isn’t the first time Carpool Karaoke has visited SXSW. Last year’s Austin-based confab had Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner driving around the city with an appropriate Game of Thrones-inspired karaoke segment, which immediately became one of their popular episodes.

Read More

Jimmy and Edei attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills yesterday. I’ve uploaded 24 HQ photos from this event to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2018 Appearances > [2018.03.04]2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones (HQ)

Ervin Trykowski is frustrated. “I come from Scotland,” he told a tiny gathering in the backyard of Bohca, a minimalist bar in New Delhi’s southern enclave. “Which is a country of 5.5 million. You could fit 18 of my countries in your city. And we’ve produced Scotch that ends up in 180 countries. One. Hundred. And. Eighty.” That’s only 15 less than what you can count on an atlas, and therein lies the rub for Diageo’s international brand ambassador: To hear “all these Japanese and Tasmanian whiskies being branded the best in the world” might be reason enough to call someone a bampot.

Trykowski was in the national capital recently, along with actor James Marsden, to ‘host’ a party on the legendary Alexander Walker’s birthday, and ostensibly to take some of this dissipated glory back for Scotch. And that’s how the proceedings for International Scotch Day took off in India: With a decided throwing down of the proverbial gauntlet, and a much too literal throwing back of Black Label and Singleton-based cocktails. No, correction – “scoctails”. That’s what we’re calling them now, ever since Marsden coined (scoined?) it in one of their Doug-and-Brian routines behind the bar.

Between professing love for the Johnnie Walker Black, “the Everest of all whisky”, trading trivia about what’s in your cocktails, (“is there egg in whisky sour?”) and addressing the elephant in the room – What’s happening with Westworld S2? Tell us now! – Trykowski and Marsden swilled in mango nectar and ginger ale and crushed tamarind juice and mint leaves and did all kinds of unmentionable things to our drams. No “connoisseurs” were harmed in the making of these drinks: Because judging by the crowd’s collective tipsiness circa 10 pm, none had turned up.

Read More

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!

Read More

“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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More