Warner Bros.
Ryan Gosling has become one of the most beloved actors of his generation due to his ability to take on all kinds of roles, from drama to comedy to action.
Gosling is also so revered because of the interesting choices he’s made throughout his career, whether they’ve paid off or not.
Some that paid off, for example, were roles in Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, and Blue Valentine, all of which came in the wake of The Notebook and served as a buffer from Gosling being typecast as the handsome romantic lead. He also largely eschewed blockbuster filmmaking until recent years, when he starred in The Gray Man, Barbie, and The Fall Guy.
One that didn’t, however, was gaining 60 pounds for a role in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. Gosling put on the weight without telling anyone and was ultimately fired from the part.
During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, four-time Academy Award-nominee Saoirse Ronan, who starred in The Lovely Bones, reflected on Gosling being fired from the project just days before filming began, saying it was “valid” but “sad.” Gosling was ultimately replaced by Mark Wahlberg.
“I think I just loved Ryan and his dog, George, and I was just sad that, you know, he wasn’t gonna be around,” Ronan said. “But I think the reasons why they parted were totally valid, and I’ve spoken to both [Gosling and Jackson] now and it happens. Do you know what I mean? It’s not personal, necessarily. It’s like sometimes you’re just not on the same page.”
Gosling wound up lucking out by not featuring in The Lovely Bones, as the 2009 film based on the best-selling novel wound up being largely pane by critics and audiences, while also making just $93 million at the box office despite hailing from the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Gosling is currently in production in the sci-fi drama comedy Project Hail Mary from 21 Jump Street and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Project Hail Mary is based on a novel of the same name by Andy Weir, who also wrote The Martian.