If you’re a Ryan Gosling fan, you know that he catapulted to stardom in The Notebook. But did you know the director of the film, Nick Cassavetes, cast Gosling because he thought he was “the exact opposite” of his character? “You’re not handsome, you’re not cool,” Cassevetes told Gosling, “you’re just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts.” Gosling wasn’t offended and took the part, and the rest is history. That’s just one of the cool facts featured in the newest episode of You Think You Know Movies!

Not all of his roles worked out that easily, though. Gosling was supposed to star in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones, but he was fired from the film just as production was about to begin after he showed up to set 60 pounds heavier than when he was cast. Gosling later explained that he thought his character should be a heavier guy, so he drank melted ice cream to pack on more weight. Unfortunately, Gosling never shared his interpretation with Jackson, who did not agree and replaced his star with Mark Wahlberg.

‘You Think You Know Movies?’ is a ScreenCrush original series that dives deep into the cinematic worlds of your favorite movies and freeze frames a few tidbits you might not have known. We’ve already tackled Star Wars, The Avengers and Spider-Man, but this time we’re pulling out our notebook and looking up some Ryan Gosling facts. Watch more installments of ‘You Think You Know Movies?’ below and let us know in the comments what movies we should cover next.

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