James Marsden and Joel McHale have a mutual man crush

James Marsden is sexy. So sexy that (at least) one other straight male star has taken notice.

The "Westworld" leading man, 43, receives a lot of attention for his -- let's just call it what it is -- perfect face. But, he told AOL Entertainment, he's come to realize that when men say, "My wife has a crush on you," it's sometimes a bit of a cover.

"Sometimes guys have a problem expressing their admiration for another guy. 'Oh, my wife likes you,'" he told AOL Entertainment as he prepared to face off against Joel McHale in Doritos' Bold or Boom Challenge. "What they're trying to tell you is that they have a man-crush. Which, not to put too fine a point on it, might be the dynamic today."

So are the feelings reciprocated? "I think it's a mutual admiration society, me and Joel," Marsden said. "Joel used to play quarterback in college at UCLA. He's a stud. Definitely got my own little man crush." (McHale was actually a tight end at University of Washington.)

McHale confirmed the two-way attraction, adding that his own wife might be a bigger fan of Marsden than she is of him. "He's so cute," McHale said.

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Marsden and McHale sparred against each other at the event, but there's a much larger showdown looming ahead: HBO's "Westworld" is up for an impressive 22 Emmy nominations -- but it'll face stiff competition for Best Drama.

Marsden admitted he's nervous to face off against Netflix's "Stranger Things" for two big reasons: He's a big fan himself, and the kids are just so adorable.

"That's never an attribute that you want to be up against, cuteness. Little kids, puppies and kittens," he said. "I'm very happy for them ... just as a fan myself of the '80s throwback, nostalgia, Steven Spielberg, 'E.T.' kind of feeling. It hit my heart, right smack dab in the bulls-eye, and I love the show. It's definitely my generation and my speak, so I love it."

As the Emmys drama heats up, Marsden will be distracted by his own work since production's just begun on season 2 of "Westworld." Understandably, he struggled to give AOL Entertainment a preview without giving anything away.

"I do know a few things. I do know that there will be movement with Teddy. Well, maybe that's not the right way to describe it. Boy, I don't know how to tell you without getting in trouble!" he said, laughing. "[Teddy] took a little longer to reach his sentience and his awareness, and his awakening happened kind of later in the season ... It'll be interesting to see if he does start to truly wake up in the middle of all this insanity."

And he has some advice for fans: Stay off the internet. "You look on Reddit and someone's figured out where it's going, so that's kind of a bummer," Marsden said. "I always encourage fans to let the show come to you because it's that much more gratifying and rewarding."