When the movie-going public last saw James Marsden, he was bantering with a CG Easter Bunny with the voice of Russell Brand in HOP. Such frivolity is certainly not the order of the day in Marsden’s new film, STRAW DOGS, which hits theaters today.
Playing an intellectual screenwriter who transplants himself and his wife from the comforts of L.A. to the unfamiliar world of the deep South, Marsden has the tricky task of inhabiting a role once played by the immortal Dustin Hoffman, in a remake of what’s thought of as a classic by cinema lovers worldwide. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Marsden to speak about that daunting task, as well as his thoughts on the film’s uncomfortable violence and the atmosphere on the set between himself and his (screen) adversaries.