Ryan Gosling's 'Dad Bod' Cost Him the Role in a $94 Million Movie

Although Ryan Gosling is now one of the most popular and sought-after actors, he wasn't always Hollywood's top leading man, and losing a role in a movie hurt him just like any other up-and-coming star. Besides, while Gosling was never suspected of enjoying method acting or transforming his body for a role, he at least tried it once, and the end result wasn't quite worth it.

Back in 2008, Gosling was preparing to star in Lovely Bones, a fantasy drama directed by Lord of the Rings' Peter Jackson. The story of a young girl's ghost trying to connect with her living family was just the kind of heartbreaking drama Gosling needed to earn some awards and recognition, so he decided to fully transform himself for the role of Jack, the girl's father.

To prepare for the role, Gosling gained 60 pounds by drinking melted ice cream instead of water, as he apparently thought Jack should weigh around 210 pounds. It's important to note that the actor had already been cast in Lovely Bones, so his transformation seemed to be approved by the director.

In reality, however, Jackson was far too busy working on pre-production to pay attention to Gosling's weight gain, and when he finally showed up on set the day before shooting was to begin, the director was shocked to see how the actor had changed.

As it turned out, Jackson and Gosling didn't see eye to eye on Jack's appearance, and with filming already set to begin and Gosling unable to shed the pounds, Jackson fired him from the production and hired Mark Wahlberg in his place.

Needless to say, Lovely Bones turned out to be a pretty great movie, but with Gosling as the grieving father, it might have gotten a lot more recognition than it did with Wahlberg.

Fortunately, it doesn't look like Ryan Gosling really lamented being fired, as he went on to star in a series of massive cult hits and blossomed into one of Hollywood's most important actors, leaving his embarrassing attempt at method acting behind.