When Ryan Gosling Was Fired From The Lovely Bones Because Of His Weight Gain, “I Really Believed He…”
Ryan Gosling’s The Lovely Bones stint? Yeah, that didn’t happen—and it’s all because of a wild 60-pound weight gain that didn’t sit right with director Peter Jackson.
Ryan Gosling was fired from Lovely Bones ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Gosling was all set to play grieving dad Jack Salmon, but his idea of the character packing on some serious pounds? Not exactly Jackson-approved. So, days before shooting, Gosling got the boot. The kicker? He bulked up by chugging melted Haagen Dazs. Talk about dedication gone wrong! It turns out that Gosling’s vision for the role didn’t match up with the director’s, and the next thing you know, he’s out, and Mark Wahlberg’s in.
At the time, Gosling saw Jack Salmon, a grieving father, as someone who would’ve packed on some serious pounds. He felt the character should weigh in at 210 pounds to match the emotional weight of losing a daughter. So, Gosling took matters into his own hands—by guzzling melted Haagen Dazs ice cream to bulk up. “I really believed he should be 210 pounds,” Gosling told The Hollywood Reporter.
But when Gosling showed up on set with an extra 60 pounds, Jackson wasn’t thrilled. In fact, he wasn’t prepared for this sudden transformation at all. According to Gosling, the two didn’t talk much during preproduction, and the lack of communication proved to be a huge issue. “We didn’t talk very much during the preproduction process, which was the problem,” Gosling said. “I just showed up on set, and I had gotten it wrong. Then I was fat and unemployed.”
That wasn’t the only version of events, though. Jackson’s wife and collaborator, Fran Walsh, had a slightly different take. She remembered Gosling expressing doubts about the role, thinking he was too young to play the part. Walsh and Jackson reassured him, saying they could age him up with makeup and hair-thinning techniques. But as production crept closer, it became clear that Gosling wasn’t comfortable in the role. “It wasn’t until we were in preproduction and we had the cast there that it became increasingly clear: He was so uncomfortable moving forward, and we began to feel he was not right,” Walsh explained.
So, with days to go, Jackson pulled the plug on Gosling’s involvement and brought in Mark Wahlberg, who was a decade older and fit the director’s vision better. While The Lovely Bones didn’t exactly become a classic, the decision to replace Gosling altered his career.
Instead of playing Jack Salmon, Gosling went on to star in movies like Blue Valentine—where he played a similar character, only with far fewer pounds—and La La Land, Drive, and Barbie. He’s proven time and time again that he’s one of the most versatile actors out there, even if The Lovely Bones didn’t pan out as expected.
