Since Ryan Gosling left Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones and was swiftly replaced by Mark Wahlberg, gossip has been circulating about what exactly caused him to leave. Some have said he made life hell for the crew with his demands. Many have said that Jackson was shocked by the once lithe star turning up on set with his lovely bones covered in several hundred pounds of horrible lard.
Parade.com spoke to the actor who was keen to clear up the situation. "I think, people are making it a far more interesting story than it actually is," he said. "The age of the character versus my real age was always a concern of mine. Peter and I tried to make it work and ultimately it just didn’t. I think the film is much better off with Mark Walhberg in that role. Peter Jackson is an incredible filmmaker and I’m here to tell you that he has things up his sleeve that are going to blow peoples’ minds. I’m going to be the first person in line to buy tickets...The media always slant things in a negative direction. If somebody said I was easy to work with, they’d make that sound bad, too."
Gosling playing the father of the book's central murdered teen always seemed a tad unusual, with Gosling being only 26, and Wahlberg is a much more obvious fit. But Gosling's one of the best actors around, so it would be a huge shame for any of the rumours to have an impact on his career. A man who was that good in Half Nelson deserves some respect.