James Marsden Says His ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ Role Pushed Him Out of His Comfort Zone (Exclusive)

Your Friends & Neighbors is raising the stakes in Season 2, pushing its characters deeper into chaos, consequence, and reinvention.

At the center of it all is Andrew “Coop” Cooper, played by Jon Hamm, who, in Season 2, is doubling down on his life as an unlikely suburban thief. What began as a desperate solution has now become part of who he is. But the arrival of a new neighbor threatens to expose everything, putting both his secrets and his family at risk.

Who is the mysterious neighbor here to bring even more chaos to the block? Emmy Award nominee James Marsden. In his interview with Gayety, Marsden described the experience of stepping into this world as a chance to play something completely new. “There’s no element of surprise for me other than being able to come in and play something I’ve never really played before and make a big splash,” he said.

Marsden’s character Owen Ashe brings a bold, magnetic energy that is hard to ignore. Olivia Munn (who returns as Samantha Levitt) recalled their first scene together, saying, “he was so electric. And I was like, ‘wow,’ just watching. The way he moved, he just embodied a person who just walks through life feeling like they are home everywhere and just has no filter and just exudes confidence.”

Marsden added that the character is not trying to impress anyone. Instead, he simply moves through the world with ease and optimism. “He just always sees the positive,” Marsden said. “Any sort of challenges that are thrown at him in life, he’s like, ‘Great, bring it to me.’ And I’m not going to overthink it to death.”

Jon Hamm Debates Coop vs Ashe and Going Viral

While Marsden brings a new kind of energy, Coop remains the foundation of the series, and Season 2 pushes him further than ever before. When asked whether he would rather be more like Ash or Coop, Hamm did not hesitate. “I certainly wouldn’t want to be like Ash. Ash has got a raft, a rash of a lot of problems. Does a lot of too many drugs, I think. That’s a big part of it,” he said. “I wish for both of them to find happiness, although it might be a little late for Ash.”

It is a revealing take that underscores how chaotic and unpredictable the show’s world has become.

Hamm also addressed whether Season 2 could capture lightning in a bottle again with viral moments. After Season 1 aired, fans picked up on a clip of Hamm at a club, and it immediately went viral online. “I mean, I guess we’ll see,” he said of the next season. “The whole point of virality is you can’t control it. It happens by itself,” he added. “So whoever’s in charge of the internet, I’ve got some questions for him, but I suppose they’ll determine that when the time is right.”