The sleeper hit “Jury Duty” documents a trial, focusing particularly on one juror, Ronald Gladden. Except it’s not a real documentary; the cameras are real, the trial is fake, and a cast of actors surrounds Gladden, who is unaware of the ruse. But Gladden is not being set up as a mark; the Freevee limited series makes him a hero. And it turns juror-actor James Marsden into a petulant, spoiled Hollywood star.

In reality, executive producer Todd Schulman says, “James Marsden the person was basically the antithesis of James Marsden the character on the show.”

Co-creators Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (“The Office”) worked with their writers to create outlines and scripts that would provide the springboard for improvisation, designing the show as a comedic “12 Angry Men.” Filling a shuttered courthouse in Huntington Park with hidden cameras in addition to the “documentary” crew, they enacted a fake civil trial from jury selection to deliberations. Early on, Eisenberg thought of including a celebrity, since in L.A., actors serve along with everybody else.

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Jimmy attended the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco in Monte-Carlo, Monaco on May 28. I’ve uploaded 12 HQ photos from this event to the gallery.

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Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.05.28]F1 Grand Prix of Monaco (HQ)

Jimmy attended the amfAR Cannes Gala 2023 at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, France yesterday. I’ve uploaded 41 HQ photos from this event to the gallery.

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Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.05.25]amfAR Cannes Gala 2023 (HQ)

Jimmy attended the launch of the new Aston Martin DB12 at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes in Cannes yesterday. I’ve uploaded 3 HQ photos from this event to the gallery.

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Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.05.24]Aston Martin DB12 Launch (HQ)

In Amazon Freevee’s runaway hit Jury Duty, James Marsden plays James Marsden. But he’s not the James Marsden who has earned himself a reputation as Hollywood’s jovial song-and-dance man and charm personified. No, this James Marsden is an asshole.

The series revolves around Ronald Gladden, a man who believes he is taking part in your run-of-the-mill documentary taking people behind the scenes of sitting on a jury. The catch, however, is that everything is entirely fake. The trial? Fake. The lawyers and judge? Fake. The jury of his peers, including James Marsden playing a satirical, egotistical of himself called up to do his civic duty like us regular schmoes? Fake. All that’s real is Ronald.

Everything in Ronald’s orbit has been orchestrated by a team of comedy writers and producers running proceedings like the epicentre of a NASA space station. While outlines of each episode were laid out for the players, the improvised scripts evolved in real-time as the action reacted to Ronald’s movements and decisions. The result is eight episodes of long-form improvisation that feel akin to watching train tracks getting laid as a carriage is speeding away. Miraculously, it’s pulled off to create one of the most original and, surprisingly, given the logline of the series, kind-hearted television conceits in years.

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I’ve uploaded 6 HQ photos from the W Magazine photoshoot to the gallery.

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Photoshoot Outtakes > Magazine Outtakes > Daniel Jack Lyons Photoshoot 2023 for W

“I’m going to try the Katsu burger, but I’m going to do it like the classic Hollywood actor, without the bun,” James Marsden says with a self-aware laugh from the seat across from me at Kimika, in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan. This I have come to know as classic Marsden: someone who isn’t just comfortable skewering the perception of an entitled, ego-centric actor, but who frickin’ loves to do it.

He sits in a posture that’s somehow relaxed and attentive, his eye contact so disarming that I now acutely understand why PopSugar once did a story titled “32 Times James Marsden Looked Drop-Dead, Disney-Prince Hot.” In fact, I’m ready to add a 33rd time. Marsden is commonly approached on the street with the line, “Aren’t you the guy from…?” He waits as fans shuffle through the possibilities: Cyclops in four X-Men films? Corny Collins in Hairspray? The other guy in The Notebook? They often come up short, but he doesn’t mind. There’s a playful, easy-going nature to Marsden that’s surprising given the three decades he’s spent working in an industry known for chewing up and spitting out its actors.

Take, for instance, an idea he has to start his own tequila company that’s really a satire on the self-seriousness of some of his contemporaries. “I want it to be the shittiest tequila I can find,” he explains with the same child-like glee he displayed as Prince Eric in several Enchanted films. “Plastic bottle with a piece of masking tape on it that says ‘Tequila’ and it’s $6 a liter. ‘This tastes like shit. Marsden’s Tequila. But it’ll get you fucked up.’”

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Jimmy attended the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations – “Jury Duty” event at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Screening Room in Los Angeles on May 12. I’ve uploaded 57 high quality photos from this event to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.05.12]SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations – “Jury Duty” Event (HQ)

I’ve uploaded some high quality photos from recent events to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.04.25]Amazon Freevee’s “Jury Duty” Finale Celebration (HQ)
Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.05.01]Amazon NewFronts 2023 (HQ)
Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.05.01]”The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'” (HQ)
Public Appearances > 2023 Appearances > [2023.05.03]The IWC Chrono Challenge (HQ)

After breakout star Ronald Gladden and actor James Marsden appeared on the hit Amazon Freevee series, Jury Duty, the two reunited for ET as they revisited their time together on the documentary-style reality series. And Marsden also came with a surprise for Gladden — one that called back to one of their very first interactions about the actor’s co-star, Ben Schwartz.

On the show, Gladden thought he was participating in a documentary about what it is like to be on an American jury, only to learn at the end of his experience the entire thing was fake. Everything from the case, to his fellow jurors and even Marsden, who played a heightened version of himself who found himself stuck in the jury pool.

Very early on in the show, Gladden and Marsden got to talking about his acting career as the two waited to be interviewed as part of the jury selection process. After learning Marsden was in Sonic the Hedgehog, Gladden revealed he was a big fan of Schwartz, who voiced Sonic in the 2020 film adaptation, much to the chagrin of the 49-year-old actor.

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