Saoirse Ronan, the Academy Award-nominated actor in films like Lady Bird, Brooklyn and Little Women, remembers when a very prominent actor was fired days before shooting started on her thriller film, The Lovely Bones. As originally planned, Ryan Gosling would play Ronan’s father in the film (despite just a 14-year difference and Gosling being 27), but director Peter Jackson made the abrupt decision to fire Gosling from the movie. Why? An unexpected decision related to… method acting?
The Lovely Bones stars Ronan as Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old student who gets murdered by an unknown stranger. Now in purgatory (or “The In-Between”), Susie tries her best to comfort her family any way she can, but she also helps everyone in finding the murderer who violently took her life. The film was based on Alice Sebold’s supernatural drama novel of the same name.
When Ronan spoke on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on Oct. 7 about her two new films (The Outrun and Blitz), she took time to discuss making The Lovely Bones. She remembers bonding with Gosling, as he had been cast in the film as her father, Jack. Nevertheless, Jackson decided at the last minute that Gosling couldn’t play the part because the actor had decided to gain 60 pounds for the role and grow a very thick beard. This was due to Gosling’s concern about looking too young for the role. Ronan explained her feelings about it:
”
I think I just loved Ryan [Gosling] and his dog, George, and I was just sad that, you know, he wasn’t gonna be around
. 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.”
With the role of Jack suddenly (and desperately) available, Jackson sought someone else who could portray the role with authenticity. Mark Wahlberg (Pain & Gain, The Departed) stepped in and did a pretty good job, even if he didn’t have enough time to prepare. Ronan says: “Mark was able to step in, and he was a father. He was a father to, like, I don’t know, three kids? He probably had an experience of that that Ryan felt he didn’t. Ryan was like 27. He was young.”
‘I Had Gotten It Wrong. Then I Was Fat and Unemployed’
While The Lovely Bones was a surprising critical dud, it didn’t exactly help Gosling’s self-esteem to be terminated right before starting production (neither did the creation of the Twitter handle Fat Ryan Gosling). Remember, this was before he exploded in international popularity with his epic run of films in 2011 (Blue Valentine, Drive, Crazy Stupid Love). Today, Gosling is one of Hollywood’s most important megastars, appearing in acclaimed films like Barbie, The Fall Guy, and La La Land. But back then, things weren’t as easy. Gosling addressed his firing from the project back in 2010 when the film was released, telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2010:
“We had a different idea of how the character should look. I really believed he should be 210 pounds. We didn’t talk very much during the preproduction process, which was the problem. It was a huge movie, and there’s so many things to deal with, and he couldn’t deal with the actors individually.
I just showed up on set, and I had gotten it wrong. Then I was fat and unemployed.
“
Related
How Ryan Gosling Proved the Director of One of His Biggest Movies Wrong
The director of The Notebook cast Ryan Gosling because he wasn’t a leading man, then the Barbie actor became one of the biggest stars of the century.
Gosling’s firing was likely one of the reasons why Paramount Pictures changed the release date a few times. While it was directed by the man behind the blockbuster Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lovely Bones wasn’t exactly a box office hit. The film definitely made more than its budget, but the marketing budget and the cost of production delays easily ate up any net profit from the movie.
While it received a single Oscar nomination for Stanley Tucci’s portrayal of serial killer George Harvey, the film failed to capture the interest of critics. They celebrated Jackson’s ability to portray an authentic 1973, but the story felt inconsistent. During marketing, The Lovely Bones was projected to a younger audience. However, the themes explored in it were more appropriate for adults.
- Release Date
- February 19, 2009