James Marsden Worried He'd Screw Up 'Jury Duty' Role

The 'Westworld' actor admits he had reservations about his role in the new mockumentary series and was unsure about the direction that the show was going to take.

• May 21, 2023

AceShowbiz - James Marsden was so anxious before filming "Jury Duty". The 49-year-old actor portrays a parody of himself in the new mockumentary series, and James has confessed to being extremely nervous before he started filming the show.

"I was definitely sweating bullets going into it. I was like, 'I don't think I can do this, I don't know if I can be funny, I'm going to screw the whole thing up, and what is my life going to be like for the next month?' " he told news.com.au.

James also harboured some ethical concerns about the show, which focuses on the inner workings of a jury trial in the US. The actor was insistent that the show shouldn't be "mean-spirited" in any way.

He shared, "What was this show going to be like? Is it going to be like Joe Schmo? Is it going to be like a Nathan Fielder thing? Is it a Sacha Baron Cohen kind of thing? Those can be a little mean-spirited sometimes."

"I said, 'I don't want to be in a prank show' and [producer David Bernad and creators Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky] said, 'We're not making a prank show, we're creating a hero's journey for someone and we're surrounding that guy with a bunch of eccentric characters and absurd circumstances and we're going to see how he reacts, and hopefully by the end, when we pull the curtain back, we will reveal what a great guy he is and his humanity will shine through.' "

James described playing himself in the show as the "most method" he's ever been in his career. The actor - who previously starred in "Westworld" and the "X-Men" film franchise - added, "You're living this character for a five-hour take every day. I liked that part of it."