“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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Between James Marsden’s early days as a Versace model, playing the heartthrob in films like 27 Dresses and Enchanted, and now appearing nude on HBO’s Emmy-winning series, Westworld, it’s no surprise that maintaining a great physique is all in a day’s work for the actor.

But the Oklahoma native is sharing how working out has also become an integral part of staying mentally healthy and focused in the hectic world of showbiz.

“It’s the cheapest form of antidepressant out there,” the actor tells ET. “You get out there and run or walk and it just clears your mind and hits the reset button. I have to have that in my life, and being fit is the nice bonus and by-product of it.”

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Emmy Sunday will be especially grueling for James Marsden and Luke Hemsworth of the multiple-nominated series Westworld. On Sept. 17, they’ll hit the Nautica Malibu Triathlon presented by Equinox — a half-mile ocean swim, 17-mile bike ride and 4-mile run — with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Marsden admits he wasn’t aware the triathlon was scheduled on the same day as TV’s biggest night when he signed up. “I try to do it every year,” says the actor of the bike race (this time, he’ll do the run portion of the relay as part of what he dubbed a mini-“Team Westworld”). Marsden, who adds that he will skip the awards show but attend the HBO party, says the series provides training incentive because of the required nude scenes.

“It forces you to stay in shape because you never know when you’re going to be asked to get naked,” he explains. “What scares me is not knowing when that scene is going to be shot. Sometimes they’ll say, ‘Oh, you have to be naked in three days.’ Because we’re all so naked we all sort of hold each other’s hands and jump off the cliff together. They are very respectful and I’m never fully, fully, fully nude.”

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It’s good to play for a winner, even when “you’re here to be the loser” and no matter how many times you die.

Just ask James Marsden, who plays Teddy Flood, the robotic host of the smash HBO series “Westworld.”

There’s no place Marsden, whose character dies regularly on the show, would rather be right now. Being part of a show that’s been nominated for 22 Emmys — tied with “Saturday Night Live” for the most this year — can have that effect.

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James Marsden is sexy. So sexy that (at least) one other straight male star has taken notice.

The “Westworld” leading man, 43, receives a lot of attention for his — let’s just call it what it is — perfect face. But, he told AOL Entertainment, he’s come to realize that when men say, “My wife has a crush on you,” it’s sometimes a bit of a cover.

“Sometimes guys have a problem expressing their admiration for another guy. ‘Oh, my wife likes you,'” he told AOL Entertainment as he prepared to face off against Joel McHale in Doritos’ Bold or Boom Challenge. “What they’re trying to tell you is that they have a man-crush. Which, not to put too fine a point on it, might be the dynamic today.”

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