The movie Reese Witherspoon was banned from starring in: “I’m not putting you in it”
Just because you’re a good actor, it doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily the right person for a role. It can be a blow to discover that, despite your star power, you aren’t wanted in a film – even if you really desire it.
Reese Witherspoon came to realise this when she was rejected by none other than David Fincher, who knew she was the wrong person to lead his film. The Oscar-winning actor has demonstrated plenty of range over the years, and for a while she seemed to feel invincible, playing everyone from the ambitious Elle Woods in Legally Blonde to country singer June Carter Cash in Walk the Line.
When it came to Gone Girl, however, Fincher just wasn’t convinced that Witherspoon, who served as a producer on the movie, had what it took to play the missing person Amy Dunne. Running away from her crumbling marriage, Amy allows her husband, Nick, played by Ben Affleck, to become a suspect in her disappearance, framing him for her murder and engaging in increasingly insane behaviour.
The role of course went to Rosamund Pike, who delivered an impeccable performance as Amy, earning an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Actress’. How she didn’t win is quite unbelievable, because her portrayal of the unhinged character – who can forget that ‘cool girl’ monologue? – is truly masterful.
Witherspoon had been interested in bringing the movie to the big screen since the novel was even released, being made aware of Gillian Flynn’s manuscript back in 2011, a year before it was published. As soon as the book hit the shelves, it was already on its way to becoming a film, and Witherspoon was set on playing the troubled character, a smart and deranged woman.
Flynn thought Witherspoon would be great for the part –the author even wrote the screenplay for the film – but Fincher, who was brought in as the director, just couldn’t see it. Appearing on the Las Culturistas podcast, Witherspoon admitted, “David sat me down – and this is not on – but David’s like, ‘You’re totally wrong for this part, and I’m not putting you in it.’”
It was hard for the actor to hear, “I had all these conversations with the writer Gillian Flynn, and she was like, ‘No, I’d really like you to do it,’ nut he was like, ‘You’re wrong,’” and having previously made movies like Seven, Fight Club, and The Social Network, Fincher clearly knew what he was doing when it came to making casting decisions.
So, Witherspoon had to step back and accept that this wasn’t the part for her, after all. “That was, first of all, an ego check for me,” she revealed. “It was like, ‘No, you’re not right for everything.’ And he was right. He was totally right.”
Gone Girl was a massive hit, grossing a whopping $370.9million against its $61m budget. Pike couldn’t have been a more perfect choice to play Amy, her stare alone enough to seal the deal. It was the career-defining role she needed to elevate her to true star status, while Witherspoon at least still got to contribute through her role as a producer.
