Peter Jackson has finally spoken out about Ryan Gosling’s infamous recasting in The Lovely Bones, the director’s 2009 film adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel. Gosling was originally cast to play Saoirse Ronan’s father, but he told THR in 2010 that he was fired from the film after gaining 60 pounds for the role without Jackson’s consent.
During a conversation at Cannes after winning the honorary Palme d’Or (via Entertainment Weekly), Jackson was asked about the Gosling revelation and spoke candidly about the decision to drop him from the film. Mark Wahlberg was then cast in the role.
“I’m not going to talk about specific instances of actors because this is personal and private and it’s not their fault,” Jackson began. “When we recast an actor, it’s actually our fault, because we didn’t get it right and we cast the wrong person for the role. It’s not because they did anything wrong. So, I’m not going to talk about individuals, but you have to understand that what you imagined wasn’t actually happening at all. That means we were wrong, and therefore we take full responsibility.”
Jackson continued, “Ryan, as we know, is a great actor. Movies have chemistry both on camera and behind the camera. Chemistry happens in terms of what an actor communicates to a movie audience. It’s a complex kind of amalgamation of communication of how to fit in with the actors. It’s complicated, and usually we try very hard when we’re planning a movie and casting and trying to get that gel right, but sometimes we make our own mistakes.”
Speaking to THR in 2010, Gosling said, “We had different ideas about what the character should look like. I really believed he should be 210 pounds. We didn’t talk much in pre-production. That was the problem.”
Gosling quipped, “It was a huge movie, there were so many things to deal with, and he couldn’t treat the actors individually. I just showed up on set and made a bad decision. Then I got fat and unemployed.”
Saoirse Ronan appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2024 and recalled the dramatic casting change. Although Jackson never started filming The Lovely Bones with Gosling, Ronan revealed that the cast was already “preparing to some degree” by the time Gosling was fired. Ronan had developed a bond with Gosling and was sad to see him go.
“I think I just loved Ryan and his dog George, and I was just sad that he wasn’t around,” Ronan said. “But I think the reason they broke up is completely valid. And now I’ve talked to both[Gosling and Jackson]and it happened. You know what I mean? It’s not necessarily personal. Sometimes it’s like you’re not on the same page.”
“Mark was able to step in. He was a father,” Ronan added. “He was, like, a father of three kids? He probably had experiences that Ryan felt he didn’t have. Ryan was about 27 years old. He was young.”
