17 Years Ago, This Actor Got His Role Wrong and Peter Jackson Cut Him From the Film!

During a 2010 roundtable hosted by The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan Gosling discussed an unfortunate moment in his career: his firing from Peter Jackson’s 2007 film “The Lovely Bones.” Originally cast to play Jack Salmon, the father of the film’s young heroine, Gosling was let go just before filming began. The role eventually went to Mark Wahlberg.

The root of the disagreement was a clash of artistic visions. To delve deeper into his role as a grieving father haunted by the loss of his daughter, Ryan Gosling decided to gain weight—about 60 pounds—and grew out his beard. He revealed that he achieved this transformation by regularly consuming melted Häagen-Dazs ice cream. However, this drastic physical change did not align with what Peter Jackson and the production team envisioned for the character.

“We had a different idea of what the character should look like,” Gosling stated. “I really thought he should weigh 210 pounds.”

Unfortunately, this personal interpretation did not convince the team, and the actor was dismissed at the last minute. According to some sources, the decision was even communicated the day before filming was set to begin!

Gosling also acknowledged a lack of communication during the pre-production process: “We didn’t talk much during the pre-production process, which was the problem. It was a huge film, and there was so much to manage, and he couldn’t deal with the actors individually. I arrived on set completely wrong.”

Was There Another Reason for His Replacement?

However, there’s another version of this separation. Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson’s wife and collaborator, stated that Gosling himself had expressed doubts about his suitability for the role:

“Ryan came to us two or three times saying, ‘I’m not the right person for this role. I’m too young.’ And we said, ‘No, no, no. We can age you. We can lighten your hair.’ We were very excited.”

Ultimately, the team realized that Gosling was uncomfortable, and they preferred to opt for another actor: “It was only when we were in pre-production and had the cast there that it became clearer and clearer: he was so uncomfortable from there on, and we started to feel he wasn’t the right fit. It was our blindness, the desire to make it work [with him] at all costs.”

“The Lovely Bones,” starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, and Stanley Tucci—who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor—follows the story of a murdered teenager who watches over her grieving family and her murderer from the beyond.

For Ryan Gosling, this misadventure ended with the realization: “Afterwards, I was fat and unemployed.” Fortunately, this episode did not hinder his rapid rise in Hollywood.

And it was just one missed role among many. Before shining in La La Land or Barbie, the actor had been considered for numerous major films: Batman v Superman, Fifty Shades of Grey, 28 Days Later… Here is a list of 10 roles he almost landed.

Saoirse Ronan’s View: A “Justified” Dismissal

More than fifteen years after the incident, Saoirse Ronan reflected on this significant episode during a 2024 appearance on the podcast Happy Sad Confused. Gosling’s departure from the project deeply affected her at the time, but she now understands it.

At the time of the film’s release, Saoirse was still a teenager. She had just gained massive recognition with her first Oscar nomination at age 14 for “Atonement.” Since then, her career has flourished, earning her three additional nominations. It was in this context that she began working with Ryan Gosling, getting as far as “a few preparations” with him before filming.

Learning of his dismissal was hard to take. She particularly remembers the attachment she had developed to her co-star—and even to his surroundings: “I think I liked Ryan. And his dog, George, and I was just sad that he wasn’t there anymore.”

With hindsight, the actress acknowledges that the decision was not personal and today believes that the casting change was inevitable and based on artistic differences and life experience.

“I’ve spoken to them [both] since then and it happens. You know what I mean? It’s not necessarily personal. It’s like sometimes you’re just not on the same wavelength. Mark was able to step in, and he was a father. He was a father of, I don’t know, three kids? He probably had an experience of this kind that Ryan didn’t feel. Ryan was 27. He was young.”

A Fond Reunion

Far from leaving a bitter taste, this episode seems to have been digested by all involved. Proof of this: a few years later, Saoirse Ronan and Ryan Gosling reunited on “Lost River” (2014), Gosling’s directorial debut. The actress has fond memories of their reunion, describing it as “great,” before adding, “And again, he’s just the same. He doesn’t change.”

Ryan, too, is full of praise for the young actress: “She’s a genius. She made me a better actor. I felt like I was working with a master, someone from the Golden Age. Someone superior to me in every way. She’s Meryl Streep reborn,” he said to the Irish Sun in 2017.

Today, both are close to Greta Gerwig, and many fans hope to see them share the screen again. After all, their aborted collaboration on “The Lovely Bones” might have been just a missed connection—and Hollywood loves second chances.

“The Lovely Bones” and “Lost River” are currently available on VOD for those who wish to (re)discover these works.

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