How are we feeling about Josh Duhamel these days? Like he’s one of the lucky bastards whose wife “forgave” him for his affair with a $10 stripper? That Fergie should have kicked him to the curb for his epic, pr0n-filled seduction? Yeah, that’s how I feel. But Fergie forgave him and they renewed their vows and so everything is okay, right? And so no one even has to ask Josh about the stripper, right? Why would we need that? Thus, Josh Duhamel’s interview in Parade Magazine this week. There are only quotes about how he fell in love with Fergie and how he “stalked” her. What a prize! Although I do think the Parade interviewer came close to asking about the stripper with the subheadline “Acting advice from a pro”.

At least we think he’s kidding.
“The joke in When in Rome is that all these guys are stalking Kristen Bell’s character because she grabbed the coins they threw into a fountain in Rome. I could relate. That’s how I got my wife. I literally stalked her for weeks until she said yes. They say it’s not stalking if she says yes.”

But seriously, did he and Fergie have instant chemistry?
“I’m not a huge believer in love at first sight, but I think that when it is right, often it’s somebody that you had that feeling about when you first met them. I think anytime you get into a relationship, you think ‘This is the one.’ But it’s good to wait it out, dig a little bit deeper, and over time you find out if you’re with the person that’s right, the one you really love.”

Playing the romantic leading man.
“I’ll tell you the truth: More than the good-looking guy, I had to be the straight man. They decided it would be funny if I took some pratfalls and bumped into things. You see me doing a lot of that in the movie.”

And let’s not forget his big stunt.
“When I was doing Transformers, Michael Bay, the director, was like ‘Good God, Duhamel, do I need to get you some macho juice or something? I’m trying to make you look cool here.’ So, now, maybe that’s why I try to do my own stunts. There was a scene in When in Rome where I was supposed to run into this car. On the first take, I literally went right over the car and fell on my neck. They almost stopped it right there. On the take that they used I actually broke the windshield. That was really me, folks, not some stunt guy.”

Acting advice from a pro.
“I did a scene in Las Vegas where I had to kick the crap out of this guy. So I went to Jimmy Caan, who was playing my dad, and said, ‘Do you have any suggestions?’ He went into this whole thing like, ‘Don’t be afraid to just kick him below the belt. This is the guy who killed your best friend, so don’t be afraid to punch him, choke him, do whatever you have to do.’ I said, ‘So should I take a garbage can lid and beat him over the head with it?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, if you can find one.'”

Playing the fame game.
“There’s a lot more focus on celebrities and it takes an incredible amount of moral strength to persevere through all the attention. There’s a few stars I kind of aspire to be like. Tom Hanks, for instance, is somebody who’s really been able to stand his ground. And Paul Newman was a guy who was married since he was in his 20s. And, of course, there’s Jimmy Stewart. Those are stars that have been able to sort of be professionally successful and still maintain their private lives.”

His game plan.
“It sounds cliche to say, but I just try to stay exactly who I am. If you don’t try to pretend and you don’t try to please everybody and say exactly what you’re thinking — as long as it isn’t too offensive — you’ll be fine. If they don’t like you, it’s not your fault. At least you weren’t pretending to be something different.”

[From Parade]

Before the cheating scandal, I used to think Duhamel was a pretty inoffensive, unobtrusive guy. Maybe that’s what he’s trying to get back to. I’m not sure how claiming to be a stalker helps, but maybe he’s trying to convince us that he really does love Fergie…? Maybe? I do know that being game enough to wear a pretty tiara certainly helps. Maybe I see why Fergie forgave him.

Josh Duhamel on the set of ‘Good Morning America’ on January 26, 2010. Credit: Pacific Coast News.