‘The Lovely Bones’: Was Ryan Gosling fired for gaining weight?
Ryan Gosling, one of Hollywood’s most bankable blockbuster actors, hasn’t always had things his own way. While hits such as Barbie, Drive, and La La Land established his excellence on the big screen, other productions slipped away in a fog of disappointment.
When Peter Jackson, in one of his first post-Lord of the Rings projects, adapted The Lovely Bones from Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel of the same name, he originally cast Gosling in one of the lead roles. The plot centres around the spirit of a murdered teenage girl who watches over her broken family and her killer from the afterlife; Gosling was initially cast as Jack Salmon, the father of the murder victim.
Thinking, not unreasonably, that he should shed his movie star image in order to play a broken, grieving father, Gosling gained 60 pounds for the project, mainly by eating endless tubs of ice cream, and he soon went from 150 pounds to 210. This approach had logic, but Jackson disagreed and told Gosling to lose the weight again. Their differing opinions on the character’s appearance and Gosling’s belief that he wasn’t right for the role ultimately led to him departing the production.
In all honesty, when Gosling believed he had been miscast, it’s hard to argue with that. It is difficult to imagine the actor taking that role at that time. He was only in his late 20s, so accepting him as a father of two teenage girls would’ve been challenging. However, the Barbie actor would undoubtedly have preferred that this conclusion was reached before he began to consume melted ice cream in preparation for the role.
Mark Wahlberg was eventually cast as Jack Salmon. Once again, he’s not necessarily the type of actor who could disappear into the background as the novel portrayed. However, the producers were worried that a film with such dark themes would fail at the box office without a big star attached. Despite this, the movie underperformed at the box office anyway.
As it turned out, Gosling dodged a bullet by departing the project. Although The Lovely Bones was originally tipped as a potential Oscar contender, it failed to hit the heights predicted. As for Gosling, in a very indirect and unfortunate manner, it nevertheless showcased him as an actor willing to go the extra mile for his roles, with a firm understanding of character.
The movie does feature a brilliant performance from Stanley Tucci as the serial killer, and he was nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Oscars in recognition. In another world, Gosling may well have joined him.
