James Marsden turned down role in Magic Mike

James Marsden turned down a role in Magic Mike due to "a lack of courage".

The 2012 movie, directed by Steven Soderbergh, depicted the world of male stripping and starred Channing Tatum, whose background as a stripper provided inspiration for the film, as well as Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Matthew McConaughey, and Alex Pettyfer.

In a recent interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden, the Westworld actor revealed he was offered a role in the movie but he turned it down due to "a lack of courage".

"I had the fear that I would be edited out of the movie - all my lines would be cut out, and I'd be an extra just running around in a G-string," he confessed. "So I think it was a lack of courage on my part. But then I was like, 'What am I doing?' This is Soderbergh, I should have just done it.

"But I have friends and family who still think it was a wise idea for me not to do it, because they don't want to see me like that."

In hindsight, Marsden feels he could have "probably jumped in and had fun" with a role in Magic Mike, but added, "More often than not, I'm happy, when I look back; I avoided some pitfalls."

Magic Mike, which was co-financed by Soderbergh and Tatum, went on to be a huge success - it received positive reviews and raked in more than $167 million (£123 million) at the worldwide box office from a $7 million (£5 million) budget. A hit sequel titled Magic Mike XXL was released in 2015, and a live stage show opened in London in 2018.