Marsden on filming ‘The Stand’ during the coronavirus outbreak
Art imitating life is feeling very real for James Marsden right now.
The actor is in Vancouver, British Columbia, shooting “The Stand,” the upcoming CBS All Access adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel about a virus that decimates the world and kills almost all of mankind.
Filming during the coronavirus outbreak has been a little eerie for the cast and crew, Marsden said on Variety’s iHeartRadio podcast.
“There are scenes in the beginning of ‘The Stand’ where as soon as you see someone who looks normal sneeze or cough into their arm, everyone’s eyes in the room darts towards them,” he said. “I see that in public now, and everyone kind of takes a few steps away from the person. It’s crazy. We’re in full panic mode right now.”
Because they’re still in production, “The Stand” won’t be premiering in the near future. “Obviously, no one would ever want to capitalize on something as horrible as this, but it certainly makes it relevant,” Marsden says. “I just don’t think about it and just keep chugging away.”
Marsden has been doing a lot of chugging away lately. Not only does he co-star in Paramount’s box office hit “Sonic the Hedgehog” (yes, he’s hoping for a sequel), but he’ll next be seen with Cate Blanchett in “Mrs. America,” Hulu’s limited series about late right-wing activist Phyllis Schlafly’s fight to
“It’s crazy. We’re in full panic mode right now.” — James Marsden
defeat the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. Marsden plays a fellow conservative, Republican congressman Phil Crane.
“I’ve never been more prepared in my life, to be honest with you,” he said about acting opposite Blanchett. For the first time in his 25-year career, he sought the help of an acting coach. His and Blanchett’s first days on set included filming some of their most intense scenes together.
“Yeah, I chewed my nails off that day,” Marsden recalled. “But ultimately, it worked out. It was a lot of fun, and it’s another reminder of how much working with a talented actress of Cate’s caliber can bring out so much more in you.”
With this year’s 20th anniversary of “X-Men,” I asked Marsden to reminisce a bit about playing Cyclops. He recalled his auditions for the role. “I remember ... wearing a tight-fitting T-shirt,” he said. “And I remember going into the bathroom before the auditions every time and locking the door and putting paper towels down on the floor and doing as many pushups as I could and doing arm-curls in the mirror, just to kind of get a pump on.”