Ryan Gosling Gains 60 Pounds For Role, Immediately Fired
Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling has wowed moviegoers with his impeccable acting and how he seamlessly shifts genres. However, he had gained sixty pounds for a big role but was promptly fired soon thereafter. So, what happened, and was there a rhyme or reason for this? Keep reading for more details on what transpired.
Ryan Gosling Is A Jack Of All Trades
When it comes to acting, Ryan Gosling can play just about any type of character. He won and broke hearts in The Notebook, but made fans laugh out loud as Ken in Barbie, where he also showed off his singing chops. This was something he initially did in the Oscar-nominated film, La La Land. Ryan also knows how to do sketch comedy, as viewers adore the times that he has hosted SNL. For one film, the father of two gained an incredible amount of weight, around sixty pounds. He was then fired.
The forty-five-year-old was set to star in the 2009 film, The Lovely Bones, based on Alice Sebold’s novel. To get into the part, Ryan Gosling proceeded to gain sixty pounds, but he did so without the consent of director, Peter Jackson. Ryan was soon fired, and the role went to Mark Wahlberg, but what was the method to Peter’s madness? He recently opened up about the drastic firing and recasting at Cannes and shared that it was all his fault. Peter Jackson noted that, when an actor is let go from a film and then recast, it is due to them not getting it right the first go-round:
“Anytime we recast an actor, it’s actually our fault because we didn’t get the casting right and we cast the wrong person for a role. It’s not because they did anything wrong. So, I’m not going to talk about individuals, but you just got to realize that what you were imagining isn’t really quite happening, which means that we got it wrong and so we take full responsibility.”
Ryan Gosling was praised by Peter for his talent, but he had to admit that those behind the scenes do fail. It is part of the business, and it is sad for the actors, but they just have to roll with it, unfortunately.
Sad, But It Worked
Although losing Ryan Gosling was sad for the cast of The Lovely Bones, it ultimately worked. In 2024, Saoirse Ronan spoke out about the recast. She noted that they had not filmed with Ryan but had done some work with him and really loved him. However, it just made more sense for Mark Wahlberg to step in, and that was because he was a dad. He had three children, whereas Ryan was only twenty-seven:
“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.”
Ryan Gosling is now a father of two, so maybe it would be different in 2026. Did you see the film, and do you believe Mark was a better choice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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