RYAN GOSLING SPEAKS TO HEAT
The world’s hottest actor on getting punched by Harrison Ford, and why he constantly disappoints his fans
Believe it or not, when Ryan Gosling was cast in his breakout role in now-legendary 2004 romantic drama The
Notebook, the film’s director Nick Cassavetes told him, “I want you to play this role because you’re not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You’re not handsome, you’re not cool, you’re just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts.” Of course, as soon as the world saw a rain-sodden 23-year-old Ryan in a passionate embrace with his co-star Rachel Mcadams, we all decided there and then that Gosling was the personification of both handsome
and cool. Since then, nothing in the 36 year old’s brilliant career has swayed us from that belief, dotted as it is with such iconic films as
Crazy, Stupid, Love, Drive and last year’s La La Land, for which he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.
Gosling will soon reunite with his La La Land director Damien Chazelle for a biopic about the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, but first there’s the little matter of his lead role in perhaps the most highly anticipated and long-awaited movie sequel ever. The original Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, came out in 1982 and became a cult phenomenon. Since then, it’s been regularly voted the best sci-fi film of all time, or just one of the best films full stop. Now, 35 years later, the sequel is about to arrive in cinemas. The storyline is shrouded in secrecy, but with the film having been directed by Denis Villeneuve – whose Arrival was one of the best films of last year – and co-starring Harrison Ford himself, plus Jared Leto and Robin Wright, the buzz has reached epic proportions. Gosling – who lives in Hollywood with actress Eva Mendes and their girls, Esmeralda, three, and Amada, one – has a relaxed demeanour about him, but he’s also deeply excited about this particular film, having been a massive fan of the original since his teens. Oh, and Harrison Ford is pretty much his movie-star hero, despite the fact that during the
filming of a fight scene in Blade
Runner 2049, Ford managed to punch Gosling in his (beautiful) face – fortunately, no real damage was done. We’ll get to Ryan’s feelings about that incident, find out if he’s got any plans to work with La La Land co-star Emma Stone again, and discover how he really feels about being a bona-fide sex symbol. Blade Runner 2049 must be a tough one to promote, seeing as you can’t say anything about the plot… [Smiles.] A sniper has been following me around, it’s proven rather inconvenient in my dayto-day. They might’ve also put a chip in my head that may go off at any moment. So, I’ve learned to be careful. We heard you’re a big fan of the original movie… I was a fan, of course. I watched it when I was 13. Obviously, it had been out for a couple years prior. Er, you were only two when it came out… Yeah, a little young to take it in then. [Laughs.] But even at that age, I could tell how beautiful and stark it was. It had a lasting effect on me, to this day. I used to live in Downtown LA, where a lot of it was shot, and we used to pretend we were Blade Runners, so this is a cool job for me. What was so special about it? It was probably one of the first films that made me ponder the meaning, as nothing was clear. The hero wasn’t obvious, the villain wasn’t obvious, there was an ambiguity, a magical ambiguity I’d never come across before. I didn’t know that could happen in film. There were more questions than answers. So, how did it feel to actually be in the
Blade Runner world? We filmed in Budapest, but I wasn’t in Budapest, I was in Downtown LA in 2049. The intricate detail of the sets took my breath away, every day I was there, I had to learn to suppress my amazement, to get beyond that. I’m still trying. [Laughs.] How was it working with the legend that is Harrison Ford? He has a reputation for being quite intense –were you nervous? Yeah, I mean, there’s no other way of approaching him. It’s Harrison Ford. He’s an icon – it’s bizarre being in his presence. I never thought I would work with him. Denis [the director] would say to me, “Now, every scene you do, imagine Harrison in the corner, watching you, shaking his head in disappointment.” That was effective. But he’s a lot funnier than I expected. Way funnier. He’s a one-liner machine. We assume he was a big part of your childhood, like he was for all of us – did that make it all the more intimidating? He is why we all do what we do. He’s inspiring, his work is iconic, he’s the best. Working with him every day on set, I felt reborn as an actor – he replenished my passion for the work. Especially with that punch? With that punch. There it is! Right, now you have to tell us. How did he end up punching you? You know, will I say it was my fault because my face leaned in a little too close to his fist? It happens. It’s not something I’m ashamed of. If it’s going to happen, let it be delivered by Harrison Ford. It was a privilege. Are you nervous about the reception for this, given how special the original is? I am nervous. I’m always nervous about anything I do. I think it’s healthy to have a healthy quota of anxiety. But this is Blade Runner, there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of expectation. You can’t ignore that completely. Much of that is alleviated by Denis taking this on, and he wasn’t fazed by it. And Harrison. You couldn’t do this without him, and so with them, I’m not so nervous. It could have been worse. I think there was probably a lot more pressure on Denis – he’s the captain of the ship, I’m only one of the crew. How did they approach the task of making the sequel? The fact that Ridley [Scott, who directed the original film and produced this one] and Harrison wanted to go further, that was really exciting. When the original came out 35 years ago, there were immediate plans to work on a second movie, but that didn’t work out for whatever reason. What’s remarkable is, you could see this without having seen the original – even though it’s a natural extension, it’s
‘It was a privilege to be punched in the face by Harrison Ford’
a continuation of the original story – it doesn’t matter. It stands by itself. And I think, for me, I’ve always wanted to know what happened to that world. You’re working on First Man next with Damien Chazelle. Is it exciting to come back together after the massive success of La La Land? I’m excited for that. It’s funny, because that’s why there was an initial dialogue between Damien and myself – that’s what we were focusing on first, and then La La Land distracted us, very nicely. It’s a nice way to begin the working relationship – a film like that with so much charisma and pure joy, and the new film is Damien’s very unique vision of [Neil Armstrong’s] story. So, you were meant to do Neil Armstrong first? I knew Damien was working on something paying homage to the musicals of the ’50s, which I was brought up on. Anything Gene Kelly, I’m a big fan of. You’ve worked with Emma [Stone] three times now – are you planning on a fourth? If she’ll have me. [Laughs.] I hope. She’s a busy person. She’s probably forgotten all about me. You must have been so happy for her when she won her Oscar… I was so happy for her, but I already knew she’s the best. Can we talk about your sex-symbol status? It’s a constant for you, no matter the roles, no matter the movies. How do you deal with it? I mean, I’m not that guy. [Laughs.] Is it weird for you still, or are you used to it? I think… I don’t know, it’s not something I contemplate ever. But you must have fans coming up to you all the time? Is it ever annoying? Not really. You just have to be OK with it. You’re going to be constantly disappointing people when they meet you, because you’re human and the same as everyone else. You’ve never been one to talk about your personal life, but people are still interested and ask you questions. Do you find it frustrating? It’s weird, though, isn’t it? Imagine someone came up to you, a total stranger, and started asking you about details relating to your personal life. Who likes that? Who appreciates that? It’s not part of the job for me.