Ryan Gosling, the actor who has been in demand for quite a long time, once rejected Mark Wahlberg’s movie. Although the factor of aging the actor interfered with his work, the filmmakers were so desperate for Gosling that they were ready to age the actor to make him look old way past his years.
Ryan Gosling rejected the movie stating that the producers had got the wrong actor for the role. During the pre-production stage of development, the filmmakers realized that they were too blinded by Gosling’s likeability and that the actor did not suit the role at all.
When Filmmakers Wanted Ryan Gosling Desperately
Well, the actor’s craze has been felt throughout the decades since he nails every role that he is interested in. Being an actor who chases passion rather than money, Ryan Gosling was once offered a significant role in a 2009 movie titled The Lovely Bones.
Based on the book of the same name, the movie starred Saoirse Ronan as the lead actor, and Gosling was offered the role of her father! Back in 2009, the actor was indeed too young to take on such a tackling role but the filmmakers’ desperation forced him to be included in the production of the film. Before signing on with Wahlberg, Ryan Gosling had already been in talks to portray the role of the father of the lead character. Although Gosling did not want the role, the film’s producer Frank Walsh was even ready to age the actor up to make him look much older.
It was later in the pre-production stage of development, that Walsh realized that Gosling was indeed too young to portray the character and he finally let him go.
“Ryan came to us two or three times and said, ‘I’m not the right person for this role. I’m too young.’ And we said, ‘No, no, no. We can age you up. We can thin your hair.’ We were very keen. It wasn’t until we were in preproduction and we had the cast there that it became increasingly clear: He was so uncomfortable moving forward, and we began to feel he was not right. It was our blindness, the desire to make it work no matter what,”
After Gosling’s departure, Mark Wahlberg was cast in the role of Jack Salmon and the movie went on to earn $98 million at the global box office. With the dark tone of the movie, Mark Wahlberg admitted that he had to go through emotional torture to conclude the movie without having a breakdown.
When Mark Wahlberg Went Through Emotional Torture!
With the story of a father who lost his daughter in a murder, it was obviously tough for Mark Wahlberg to hold himself during an intense moment in the movie. With such a dark tone set against the backdrop of a tragedy, Wahlberg revealed that it was emotional torture to get through the shooting of the movie.
“I’ve put myself through emotional torture making this movie. It’s taken me to unimaginably dark places. The Lovely Bones is a chilling story, especially if you’re a parent. I’ve never been daunted by a script. But as soon as I realized what this film involved, I really had to think about whether I wanted to go to that dark place every day during filming,”
With whatever happened to Wahlberg, Ryan Gosling is sure glad that he did not take the role of Jack Salmon. With a rating of 6.6./10 on IMDB and a low of 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Lovely Bones is available to stream on Paramount+.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
