Digging deep with James Marsden
Teddy Flood actor opines on AI and Westworld’s ‘satisfying’ Season 2 finale
Caution: spoiler alerts for Season 2.
It would be hard to argue that James Marsden didn’t dig deep, finding more humanity portraying a cowboy robot in
Westworld than perhaps in any prior role, including that of a prince in Disney’s Enchanted or Cyclops in the XMen franchise.
HBO’s big budget, sci-fi thriller was always a world of violent, unsettling delights, a grotesque Disneyland for adults where the “hosts” are at the mercy of their human masters. And the moral centre in this tribute to unchecked narcissism is cowboy Teddy Flood. Marsden plays him as a straight-as-an-arrow hero with a heart of gold, right out of central casting.
The Oklahoma-born star, now 44 years old, shares the screen with luminaries such as Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton and Evan Rachel Wood, his love interest in the adult theme park of the future. The show has been a massive hit for HBO as it looks to find a genrebending replacement for Game of
Thrones. Westworld’s Season 2 finale airs Sunday, and a third season has already been picked up.
“I think people have responded and the show works because we’ve taken these two archetypal characters and instituted a gender role reversal,” Marsden says in a thoughtful interview in his hotel suite at Toronto’s Shangri-La Hotel. “It is redefining what a post-modern hero should be. The old classic Western hero was strong jawed, quick with a gun, and he would save the damsel in distress. Now Evan is doing that. But it doesn’t make her less vulnerable, and I don’t think it makes Teddy less weak. I think it makes them more appealing.”
Westworld, based on the Michael Crichton novel, which was also made into a 1973 film starring Yul Brynner, is superficially a big-scaled action-adventure. The fantasy premise allows writers a unique framework to tackle serious issues such as class structure, misogyny, race and the unauthorized collection of personal information as the robots clash with their human overlords.
“I’m always attracted to thoughtful material that creates a discussion about where we are today,” Marsden says. Dressed in a navy blue bomber jacket and brown suede shoes, Marsden, a former Versace model has often been cast as the “hot guy” in any number of shows.
Westworld has allowed him to add dramatic heft and deal with substantive themes, but still within the envelope of a “tent-pole” production. “In this case, you have robots who have been programmed to love and to feel. And even if they’re not made of the same materials, you can make an argument they are more human in some cases. But what happens when the oppressed get free will? Will they take on the traits of the oppressor? I thought these themes were exciting and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Marsden was recently cast in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Holly
wood alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino and Brad Pitt that he begins filming later this year.
For now, he has to contend with the outpouring for Westworld. In the second half of the season, viewers were dismayed to learn that Teddy was deemed “too soft” by the newly awakened Dolores Abernathy, the leader of the robot revolt, so she had him reprogrammed into a killing machine. This did not sit well with many viewers who created a Tweetstorm of hate on actress Wood.
“Evan texted me and said ‘Thanks. I’m now the most officially hated person on Twitter,’ ” laughs Marsden.
I ask Marsden which is more fun to play, bad Teddy, or good Teddy?
“Right now I’m enjoying cutting loose and bringing some flavour and a different type of dynamism. I think any actor would love that,” says Marsden. “I love the character. I love Teddy and his morality and his conscience. But it’s also fun to shelve that for a bit.”
Marsden says he doesn’t think Teddy is completely lost, or that his programming has been completely overwritten.
There is a shocking scene in the most recent episode leading into the finale that reminds viewers that Good Teddy is hard to erase.
“I think he does remember who he was. I do think he retains his memories. The old Teddy is in there somewhere.”
Given that the show offers endless possibilities to regenerate and reboot characters, at what point does Westworld jump the shark?
“I think if you see Teddy riding a T-Rex, where the Michael Crichton worlds of Jurassic Park end up in Westworld, then you might start packing it in,” Marsden laughs. “But I think we’re just getting started.”
Artificial intelligence, of which Toronto is a leading global research site, has been a controversial topic. Tesla’s Elon Musk and the late Stephen Hawking have warned about the dangers of A.I., signing an open letter calling on the United Nations to ban artificially intelligent weaponry.
Marsden says he’s not worried yet. He cups his fingers over his mouth and makes a Siri-like voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get that. I’m sorry I’m having trouble communicating,” he intones. “When they stop saying things like that, maybe then I’ll get worried. But I guess human nature typically fears what we don’t understand. With artificial intelligence it’s different. The more you understand, the more scared you get, and may- be I don’t understand it enough.”
With the season finale, Marsden, who has already signed his soul away in non-disclosure agreements, says fans will finally see some key threads come together.
“There is going to be a big payoff at the end. It doesn’t wrap everything up, but I imagine people will get a sense of satisfaction,” Marsden says.
“But people will think there was a reason I wasn’t supposed to know certain things and now I understand why. Sorry to be so cryptic, but you’ll see.”