'Dead to Me' actor James Marsden says he layered his 'unsavory' character with "some humanity and charm"
'Dead to Me', a dark dramedy that premiered on Netflix on May 3, explores the themes of female friendship and grief in its first season. The series is interspersed with pleasant moments and mystery and strikes a perfect balance between the two. The cast features Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini as friends Jen and Judy, who meet at a grief counseling group.
James Marsden plays Steve, Judy's ex-fiance who is also an opportunist and a money launderer. Steve is sly, cunning and manipulative and has a lot of back-and-forth with the female leads of the show.
Speaking about his role on the show in an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide, Marsden said that he saw Steve as a bad guy -- "a little bit" -- but he doesn't think Steve would see himself in the same light -- "like most bad guys".
"I tried to layer in some humanity and charm and some fun elements to his unsavory personality," the former Versace model said.
He added that playing complex characters like Steve are fun, especially when he can inject some amount of ridiculous humor into it.
Steve, on the show, is money-minded and narcissistic and gets Judy to act according to his plans. The character is not the most likable, but adds flavor to the storyline and is important in the plot's development.
'Dead to Me' also stars Edward Asner, Sam McCarthy, Diana Maria Riva, and Max Jenkins and is likely to come back with a second season as the first one ended on a cliffhanger. The show has been created by the writer of 'Two Broke Girls' Liz Feldman.
