Reese Witherspoon Reveals the Real Reason David Fincher Passed on Her for Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon reveals why David Fincher refused to cast her as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, even with the book’s author in her corner. His reason was surprisingly simple.
Reese Witherspoon just told a very Hollywood story: she was set to star in Gone Girl, the author wanted her, she was producing the movie... and David Fincher still told her no. Bluntly. And honestly, it kind of rules.
The short version
On Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang's podcast Las Culturistas, Witherspoon said she was originally lined up to play Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, the Gillian Flynn adaptation Fincher directed. She produced the film through her company Pacific Standard (which later became Hello Sunshine), while the leads ultimately went to Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.
"You're totally wrong for this part, and I'm not putting you in it."
That was Fincher, according to Witherspoon, sitting her down and saying the quiet part out loud. The twist: Gillian Flynn herself had told Reese she wanted her in the role. Fincher still held the line. Inside baseball note: it is not common to hear about a director telling the producer/star 'no' that directly, and then everyone sticking around to make the movie anyway.
The ego check (her words, not mine)
Witherspoon, who is 49 now, called it an ego check. She says she realized she wasn't right for everything and, in hindsight, that Fincher was right. The takeaway she shared was very producer-brain: sometimes producing means stepping aside, boosting the project, pulling the right people together, and letting the best version win out. Not the most glamorous job description, but it is the job.
How it all turned out
Rosamund Pike ended up as Amy, and Witherspoon is all in on that choice now, calling Pike perfect in the role. The film was both a critical and box office hit, and Pike landed her first Oscar nomination for playing Amy Dunne.