Peter Jackson reacts to Ryan Gosling’s 60-pound ‘Lovely Bones’ transformation: 'We had a different idea of how the character should look'

Peter Jackson has addressed Ryan Gosling’s much-discussed exit from ‘The Lovely Bones,’ years after the actor revealed he was fired from the 2009 film after gaining 60 pounds for the role. Gosling had been cast as the father of Saoirse Ronan’s character in Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel, but Mark Wahlberg later replaced him. Jackson has now said that when an actor is recast, he sees it as the filmmakers’ responsibility, not the actor’s mistake.Speaking in Cannes after receiving an Honorary Palme d’Or, Peter Jackson was asked about Ryan Gosling’s past comments, Entertainment Weekly reported. Gosling had told THR in 2010 that he gained weight for ‘The Lovely Bones’ because he believed his character should look different.Jackson did not discuss Gosling’s firing in detail, but he spoke about recasting in general. He said, “I won’t talk about any particular examples of actors because it’s a personal, private thing and it’s not their fault.”The filmmaker added, “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.”Jackson said the issue usually comes down to whether the casting fits the film. “So, I’m not going to talk about individuals, but you just got to realize that what you were imagining isn’t really quite happening, which means that we got it wrong and so we take full responsibility,” he said.Jackson also praised Gosling and said, “Ryan is a fantastic actor, as we know.” He added that films depend on “chemistry both on camera and behind the camera” and on how an actor fits into a story, a character and a group.In his 2010 THR interview, Gosling said, “We had a different idea of how the character should look. I really believed he should be 210 pounds.” He added, “We didn’t talk very much during the preproduction process, which was the problem.”Gosling also said, “I just showed up on set, and I had gotten it wrong. Then I was fat and unemployed.”Saoirse Ronan later recalled the switch on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast in 2024. She said the cast had “done some prep” and that she was sad because “I think I just loved Ryan and his dog, George.”Ronan added, “But I think the reasons why they parted were totally valid.” She said Mark Wahlberg stepped in with more real-life experience as a father, while Gosling “was like 27. He was young.”The role ultimately went to Wahlberg, and Jackson’s comments place the decision on the casting process rather than Gosling personally.