Based on the best-selling novel by author Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me tells the story of two former high school sweethearts, Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan), who find themselves reunited after 20 years apart. In their hometown for the funeral of their beloved friend, they are suddenly forced to face the love that they’ve never forgotten, as well as the life that got in their way. The film also stars Luke Bracey, Liana Liberato, Caroline Goodall, Sebastian Arcelus, Jon Tenney and Gerald McRaney.
At the film’s press day, actor James Marsden spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about playing the romantic lead that the audience is rooting for (unlike in his last Nicholas Sparks film), sharing the role with Luke Bracey, getting the first kiss right, and how much he enjoyed working with Michelle Monaghan. He also talked about how he kept his appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past a secret, as well as what attracted him to the highly anticipated HBO sci-fi/Western series Westworld, how Jonah Nolan sold him on the project, the terrific cast (which includes Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Rodrigo Santoro and Miranda Otto), and how he hopes that it goes to series so that he’ll get to do more. Check out what he had to say after the jump.
Your first time around with a Nicholas Sparks movie (he was in The Notebook), you were not the guy the audience was rooting for, to get the girl.
Read More