Did You Know? George Clooney Was Almost Cast In Ryan Gosling’s Role In The Notebook Before Dropping Out, Saying, “Everybody Knows What You Look Like At…”
George Clooney was almost cast as Ryan Gosling’s Noah in The Notebook before he bailed. Yep, the romantic classic could’ve been a whole other vibe.
George Clooney was almost cast in The Notebook ( Photo Credit – Wikimedia )
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During an Entertainment Weekly sit-down, the If actor alluded that he and Paul Newman were initially set to star in the Nicholas Sparks classic. “I was going to do a movie years ago called The Notebook, that Ryan Gosling actually did, and I was going to do it with Paul Newman,” the actor shared.
The plan was for Clooney to play young Noah, while Newman would take on the older version. Yeah, we’re talking Clooney and Newman in one swoon-worthy package.
But here’s where things got tricky. Clooney confessed that the duo realized it wasn’t going to fly. “Paul and I talked about doing it, and we were sitting there one day, and I was looking at him and I go, ‘I can’t do this movie, Paul,'” Clooney asserted. The issue? Newman’s legendary status. “Everybody knows what you look like at 30 years old. You got blue eyes, I got brown eyes. It’s never gonna work.” Clooney bailed, and Newman agreed.
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A decade later, it’s showtime for Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. And we get the epic love story. Imagine if it had been Clooney and Newman? A totally different film, right?
So, Clooney’s loss became Gosling’s gain, and the rest is history… or in this case, a wet, soggy The Notebook kiss we’ll never forget.
Director Nick Cassavetes apologizes for saying Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams didn’t get along on set
It’s been a decade, y’all. 10 years since Nick Cassavetes spilled the tea about the BTS drama between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.
Now, he’s making amends. Chatting with EW for the film’s 20th anniversary, Cassavetes alluded, “The last time I did an interview on this thing, I spilled the beans on that. I regretted it. Everyone’s like, why are you telling that? I’m like, I don’t know. It caught me on a bad day, but if [McAdams and Gosling] are around, I apologize to you guys.”
In a 2014 VH1 interview, Cassavetes revealed a tense set where Gosling reportedly asked to have McAdams swapped out. “Ryan came to me, and he says, ‘Nick, come here,’” Cassavetes recalled. “‘I can’t. I can’t do it with her. I’m just not getting anything from this.’” The director described a heated exchange between the actors that led to improved relations.
Despite the early friction, The Notebook blossomed into a romantic classic. Its success proved that McAdams and Gosling were a dynamic duo. “They fell in love, and became a wonderful, wonderful fiery couple,” Cassavetes noted. “If you want to know why The Notebook is considered kind of a romantic classic, the answers are Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.” Despite a rocky start, their chemistry became the film’s literal enduring charm.
