Saoirse Ronan is reflecting on Ryan Gosling getting cut from Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones and getting replaced with Mark Wahlberg.
In a new interview, Ronan opened up about when Gosling was let go from the supernatural film based on Alic Sebold’s 2002 novel of the same name.
“I just loved Ryan. And his dog, George. I was just sad that he wasn’t gonna be around,” Ronan said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “But I think the reasons why they parted were totally valid.”
Related Stories
Ronan continued, “I have spoken to both now, and I complete — it happens, you know what I mean? It’s not personal, necessarily; it’s just sometimes you’re not on the same page.”
Watch on Deadline
Gosling was set to play Ronan’s father in the 2009 film about a family coping with the death of their teenage daughter.
Following Gosling’s exit, Wahlberg stepped in and Ronan said she understood the decision for the change.
“Mark was able to step in, and he was a father. He was a father to, like, I don’t know, three kids? He probably had an experience of that that Ryan felt he didn’t,” she continued. “Ryan was like 27. He was young. It was great then to work with him later. He’s just, like, the same. He doesn’t change.”
Gosling, who gained weight to interpret the role, was reportedly let go from The Lovely Bones due to creative differences with the director on what the character should look like.
Ronan and Gosling would have the opportunity to work together in his directorial debut in 2014’s Lost River, which Gosling also wrote and co-produced.