Acting is a craft that many performers spend years perfecting. It takes a certain type of dedication and talent to be able to transform yourself to believably portray a character that’s different from your real personality.
That said, we bet you’d be impressed by what Canadian actor Ryan Gosling was willing to do for his role in the neo-noir film ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’.
Perfecting a Scene
Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock | Cianfrance and Gosling have previously worked together on the film ‘Blue Valentine’
Action and dramatic scenes are probably the most difficult ones to film for an actor, but sometimes even something as simple as eating can be just as challenging.
That seemed to be the case on the set of the Derek Cianfrance-directed film. Apparently, Gosling ended up eating eight hamburgers after a scene of him eating one had to be shot multiple times.
While that experience is certainly far from pleasant, Gosling had to go through tougher experiences to pull off playing the character of Luke, which was reportedly written specifically for him by Cianfrance.
Before the Cameras Roll
Artur Didyk/Shutterstock | Gosling reportedly did a lot of the stunts in the film
Given the kind of physique the actor needed to keep to believably portray a motorcycle stunt rider, the burgers probably ended up helping him. After all, he could’ve used the extra protein to maintain the 40 pounds of muscle he gained to prepare for the film.
Gosling also had to ditch his boy-next-door look. He roughened up by getting tattoos, which we’re assuming to be only temporary, and bleaching his hair blonde.
By the end, you’d never be able to tell that Luke from ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ is the same guy you saw as Noah in the romantic drama ‘The Notebook’ just years prior.
Hard Work Pays Off
Dave Allocca/Starpix | The couple have been together for around nine years now
Luckily, all of Gosling’s hard work wasn’t for nothing. His performance in the film was praised by critics.
And despite its limited release, the movie managed to recoup its $15 million budget at the box office. It earned $25.6 million in international ticket sales and $21.4 million in North America.
Perhaps the biggest win he got from filming ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ though is meeting actress Eva Mendes, who become his real-life partner after playing his on-screen love interest.
The couple is still together to this day and has since welcomed two daughters. Despite their high-profile status, they’ve kept their relationship private over the years.
