Peter Jackson finally divulges his version of why Ryan Gosling was replaced by Mark Wahlberg in the 2009 film "The Lovely Bones." When Gosling spoke to The Hollywood Reporter in 2010 about being dismissed from the project, the La La Land actor revealed that he and Jackson had a "different vision" for the appearance of a grieving father whose daughter had been murdered. Gosling admitted that he "went wrong" by gaining 60 pounds for the role, which ultimately led to Wahlberg taking his place.
Jackson spoke candidly about the casting change during an interview with journalist Didier Allouch at the Cannes Film Festival in France on Wednesday, admitting that the fault more so lay with him. "I won't discuss any particular examples of actors because it's a personal, private matter, and it's not their fault," he began. "Anytime we recast an actor, it's actually our fault because we didn't get the casting right and we cast the wrong person for a role. It's not because they did anything wrong. So, I'm not going to talk about individuals, but you just have to realize that what you were imagining wasn't really quite happening, which means that we got it wrong, and so we take full responsibility."
Jackson continued, "Ryan is a fantastic actor, as we know. Films are a chemistry both on camera and behind the camera. They're a complex interplay of how an actor connects with the audience of the film. It's a delicate balance of communication, how somebody fits into a group of people, into a story, into a character. It's complicated, and usually you try very hard when you're planning the film, casting it, trying to get that balance right, but occasionally we make our own mistakes."
Entertainment Weekly reached out to Gosling's team for comment. "The Lovely Bones" was based on Alice Sebold's 2002 novel of the same name. The film centers on 14-year-old Susie Salmon, played by Saoirse Ronan, who is raped and murdered by her neighbor, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci) in 1973. Susie watches her family from heaven as they struggle with their grief and hope for any leads in the investigation of her death. The film also starred Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon.
In his THR interview, Gosling shared that he and Jackson "didn't talk very much during the preproduction process, which was the problem," attributing the disconnect to the film being "a huge movie, and there's so many things to deal with, and he couldn't deal with the actors individually."
Ronan also spoke about Gosling being taken off the film during a 2024 interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, saying she spoke with both Gosling and Jackson about the situation at the time and found it "totally valid" and "not personal." "I think I just loved Ryan. And his dog, George," Ronan said. "And I was just sad that he wasn't gonna be around. But I think the reasons why they parted ways were totally valid, and I've spoken to both now and it happens. Do you know what I mean? It's not personal; sometimes you're just not on the same page."
Ronan also explained that Wahlberg felt like a more natural choice due to his age. At the time of production, Gosling was in his late 20s whereas Wahlberg was nearly 40.
