10 Times Actors And Directors Disagreed On Their Film's Story
4. Ryan Gosling and Peter Jackson - The Lovely Bones
The only entry where the actor-director disagreement led to the actor’s dismissal from the film, Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the 2002 Alice Sebold novel was criticized for its tonal whiplash and story. However, praise was directed towards Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci’s performances (the latter even received an Oscar nod the following year).
The former’s onscreen father was played by Mark Wahlberg but the Boston native was not the first choice as Jackson initially favoured Ryan Gosling for the role. During the pre-production process Gosling stated that he and Jackson had wildly different ideas for the character’s appearance, leading to him gaining 60 pounds for the role, much to the director’s chagrin.
Ultimately, the actor was let go due to his unexpected appearance. It should be noted that Fran Walsh, Jackson’s wife and the film’s screenwriter, mentioned that Gosling left the film because he believed that he was too young for the role despite Walsh's insistence that he could be aged up using prosthetics and make-up to match the character's age.