Creative liberty and improvisation are perhaps two of the most powerful tools that can make or break a film. But whether an actor has the volition to put them to use depends wholly on the filmmaker.
While some directors like Christopher Nolan are more than willing to give that free rein to his leading stars, others aren’t the most thrilled about it, and rightly so, if Ryan Gosling’s case regarding his breakout film is anything to go by.
Ryan Gosling Wanted to Burn the House Down…Literally
Even after almost two decades, Nick Cassavetes’ adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook continues to remain the pinnacle of romantic movies. An iconic tale of love and passion starring Ryan Gosling (Noah) and Rachel McAdams (Allie), it’s one of the most beloved summer romances. But perhaps the leading man took the word “passion” a bit too seriously given how he wanted Noah to light Allie’s dream house ablaze in the film.
Remember the fairy-tale-esque scene in the movie when Allie finds out Noah built her the house she’d always fantasized about and ends up passing out in reaction to the grand gesture? Yeah well, Gosling wanted his character to burn the house in a fit of passion instead, something which the Canadian actor believed would capture Noah’s disposition perfectly. The director, however, was positively befuddled by the suggestion and outright refused to ingrain what was evidently a bad idea.
“[Ryan] wants to talk to you about what he’s going to do. He wants to go prepare for it, feel it, live it, explore other options for it. He’d come to me and say, ‘Why can’t I burn the house down?’ I’d say, ‘Because I don’t even know what that means.’ And he’d say, ‘Cleansing my fire!’”
On-Screen Lovers, Off-Screen Enemies
Ironically enough, while the pair was head over heels in love in the movie, they could barely get along with each other behind the cameras. In fact, their off-screen equation became so volatile at one point that the Barbie star urged Cassavetes to straight up replace his co-star. Yikes
“There’s 150 people standing in this big scene, and he says, ‘Nick come here.’ And he’s doing a scene with Rachel and he says, ‘Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off-camera with me?’ I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘I can’t. I can’t do it with her. I’m just not getting anything from this.'”
But as luck would have it, the two would end up sparking a romantic chord in real life not too long after the 2004 film was released and would go on to date for a couple of years until 2007. “God bless The Notebook. It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life,” Gosling, 42, once told GQ. Funny how life works.
The Notebook can be streamed on Netflix.
Source: Vanity Fair
