James Marsden Talks Scenes with Alex Skarsgard for Straw Dogs Blu Ray

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One of the great things that director Rod Lurie does with this version, in terms of the confrontations, is how giant and looming he makes Alexander Skarsgard seem. I mean, you're not a little guy. And he towers over you in some of these climactic end scenes. How challenging was it to choreograph some of the fights, keeping that visual perspective in mind?

James Marsden: I'll be honest, they accentuated that some. But they didn't have to fake it too much. Alexander Skarsgård is 6'3. I'm 5'10. What you see on screen sometimes is not exaggerated. Though, sometimes, Rod Lurie chose to do specific angles that did accentuate his physical prowess over me. And his imposing nature. With the fight at the end of the movie? We were almost finished shooting. So Alexander and I got a little crazy. We choreographed it, obviously. But when the cameras rolled, we were really trying to hurt each other. And that was painful. Especially since I was the smaller guy. The other thing I found challenging was...I like to think of myself as an athletic guy. I am a pretty coordinated guy. But I also never thought that I was David. So I often found myself having to pretend like I'm not a fighter. I can throw a punch. I know how too. I don't know that David does. So here you are, acting as if you are more uncomfortable fighting someone than you really would be. (Laughs) So, that was interesting. I don't know if a lot of people who see the movie take that into account. They just think thatMarsden is a pussy. They thing that I can't fight. But hey, I am acting like the character. He is an intellectual. And he doesn't fight. His principles are not aliened with those locals in BFE Mississippi, where you solve every problem with violence. I don't think that David would be very good at throwing a punch. So I was having to act like I couldn't. But when Alexander Skarsgårdis throwing me up against the wall, and he is throwing me into furniture, knocking the crap out of me...Essentially, he is really doing that to me. I thought, "Hey if I get injured, at least the movie is in the can!" Some of the more painful things were not necessarily being launched into a wall, but there was this last bit, right before he gets the bear trap on him. He has a gun against my forehead. Alexander is gripping my scalp, and almost pulling my hair out. And he is pressing this real gun barrel into the skin of my forehead. It was probably one of the more painful things I have ever felt. No one wants to be a hero actor. No one wants to do that, if you know its not going to be good for the movie. We did a couple of takes like that. If we had of kept going, I would have told him to ease off.




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