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James Marsden seems to be genuinely excited about Westworld getting a third season.
Either that or the 44-year-old actor (SPOILER ALERT), whose gunslinger android character Teddy Flood seemed to meet a deadly fate in the HBO series’ second season penultimate episode – let’s not forget that robots do recover in this sci-fi western world – really is the world’s best actor.
“It’s fantastic,” said the divorced dad-of-three, who was recently cast in Quentin Tarantino’s all-star movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
“Those are the words that you always want to hear because one, it’s obviously job security, but beyond that it’s a testament to the people who watch the show who are invested. At the beginning it was like, ‘Are people going to care about two robots who have feelings about one another?’ So I love when you hear that season three is being picked up. It’s like, ‘Awesome.’”
We caught up with Oklahoma native in Toronto before that penultimate episode aired to talk about Westworld, based on the 1973 movie of the same name about a theme park where android hosts turn on their violent human visitors, leading up to the second season finale on Sunday (June 24).
Did you see the movie?
(Co-creator Jonathan Nolan) said, ‘You go watch the original movie if you like, in fact, I encourage you do it, but that’s not the show we’re making. We’re taking the concept of this theme park and we’re building on that. And basically the themes we want to explore are the future of artificial intelligence, the future of fully immersive video gaming, and more importantly than that, the sort of ethical, moral questions that go along with it.
Have your own views about A.I. changed?
Yeah, they have. I’m slowly being educated on the dangers of it. But someone told me the other day, ‘Humankind usually fears what they don’t know much about or don’t understand typically, historically. A.I. is the direct opposite of that. The more you know about it, the more you fear.’ And I don’t know enough about it to know how much to fear ‘cause in my mind, it’s simplistically, ‘Well, we created these things, so we just have to shut ‘em down.’ It’s scarier than that.
How much did you know about your character’s personality change from a Teddy bear to Teddy The Terminator in Season 2?
I didn’t know, where, or how drastic or what the specifics were. But that there was going to be a real internal emotional struggle. It was going to be an interesting time to look at, redefine the relationship between (Teddy and fellow android-love interest Dolores, played by Evan Rachel Wood.)
What does the change in Teddy ultimately mean for his relationship with Dolores, the leader of the android revolt?
I think what’s interesting to me is they are beyond their program. They’re not shackled to that anymore. The leashes have come off. They’re fully aware of what they are and how they’ve got to be where they are now. And I think the sort of existential crisis continues for Teddy, although Dolores (is) sort of past that now. She’s hellbent on revenge. But he’s absolutely not the person that he is used to.
What can you say about your role in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood which is set in L.A. circa 1969 around the Manson Family murders? There’s a rumour you’re Charles Manson?
I can say very little. I can’t say what I’m playing. They make you sign an actual NDA (non-disclosure agreement). I think that’s actually become the norm now. I just signed on to do this Paramount movie, Sonic The Hedgehog, the video game, and I can’t say much about that either. But I can tell you I’m a part of the Tarantino movie and it’s pretty exciting.
So you’re a fan?
Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, these re-invented modern film-making, and as an actor to me the key to career longevity is choices, and working with great film-makers.
Just how excited are you?
I screen shot something the other day. It was the google alert, something with my name had popped up online. It was a big picture of me and it said, ‘James Marsden, comma, Al Pacino added to the Tarantino movie.’ I’m like, ‘I am blowing that up and framing it.’ It’ll be the first time and it’ll be the only time in my life where my name comes before his.
Is another X-Men installment in your future with you as Scott Summers/Cyclops?
I don’t know. Not that I know of. (But I would be ) not opposed at all. That was a great thing to be a part of.
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