There was a moment where Mekki Leeper, who plays Noah, was supposed to say “How do I get out of jury duty? I heard that if you say you're racist they can let you off,” and Ronald beat him to the punch, saying “Hey, I saw this Family Guy episode where the guy pretends he's racist.” We were like “Did Ronald read the damn scripts?” Talk about striking gold! I don't know that the show works without somebody like Ronald.Īlthough you're playing a version of James Marsden that wouldn't necessarily be touched by Ronald going home and watching Sonic, you the real James Marsden must have instinctively found that very sweet. I love the fact that he said “You're in Sonic? I heard that was not a good movie.” The chorus of laughter in my head during that moment! That was so much better than him saying 'Hey, I'm a big fan of your work.' But there were moments when Ronald felt like he was a step ahead of us. There's one scene early on where he says he hasn't seen the Sonic movie, but then goes home and watches it after talking with you. There are some moments in the series with Ronald that feel too good to be real, like he's somehow aware he needs to hit these comedy beats. He just thinks that everyone should be interested in what he's saying, what script he's reading and that there's no conversation that's interesting if it doesn't involve what his next gig is. To be given permission to send up the clichéd, entitled Hollywood celebrity in a way that's subtle, but also, in moments, just absurd, got me really excited. I mean, I wish I could tell you that I didn't enjoy playing that character. Pulling it off feels like a miracle, creating one of the most original and, surprisingly, given the logline of the series, kind-hearted television conceits in years. The result is eight episodes of long-form improvisation that feel like watching someone try to lay train tracks for a speeding carriage. While outlines of each episode were laid out for the players, the improvised scripts evolved in real-time to suit Ronald's movements and decisions. All that's real is Ronald.Įverything in Ronald's orbit has been orchestrated by a team of comedy writers and producers, carefully choreographing the proceedings with all the rigor of a command center in a NASA space station. The jury of his peers, including James Marsden playing a satirical, egotistical version of himself called up to do his civic duty like us regular schmoes? Fake. The catch, however, is that everything is entirely fake. The series revolves around Ronald Gladden, a man who believes he is taking part in your run-of-the-mill documentary taking people behind the scenes of sitting on a jury. Not the James Marsden who has earned himself a reputation as Hollywood's jovial song-and-dance man and charm personified, but a new version of James Marsden, who is an asshole. In Amazon Freevee's runaway hit Jury Duty, James Marsden plays James Marsden.
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