Lord of the Rings Director Explains Why Ryan Gosling Was Fired After a 60-Pound Transformation

Here's a Hollywood story that's floated around for years, but somehow never gets any less bizarre. Turns out, Ryan Gosling once got fired from a major movie after showing up on set looking nothing like anyone (except him) expected – and now, director Peter Jackson is finally weighing in about how the whole thing went sideways.

The Curious Case of Gosling and 'The Lovely Bones'

So, the year is 2009. Peter Jackson – yes, the guy behind all those Lord of the Rings epics – is adapting Alice Sebold's pretty bleak bestseller, 'The Lovely Bones.' Ryan Gosling, riding high off his indie cred, lands the role of Jack Salmon, the grieving father. Sounds like a solid pairing, right?

Not exactly. Gosling decided the best way to embody the character was to bulk up. Like, seriously bulk up. Sixty pounds heavier than anyone expected, based on his own idea that this dad needed to look, and I quote, '210 pounds.' The key detail here: nobody else was on board with this. According to Gosling, 'We didn't talk very much during the preproduction process, which was the problem. I just showed up on set, and I had gotten it wrong. Then I was fat and unemployed.'

Peter Jackson Speaks (Sort Of)

Fast forward to this year's Cannes Film Festival. Jackson finally commented after picking up an Honorary Palme d'Or, but if you were hoping for juicy behind-the-scenes drama, think again. He called casting dustups a 'private matter,' but did lay out his general philosophy. Here's as close as he got to specifics:

'Anytime we recast an actor, it's actually our fault because we didn't get the casting right and we cast the wrong person for a role. It's not because they did anything wrong... Ryan is a fantastic actor, as we know. Films are a chemistry both on camera and behind the camera. It's just a complicated sort of amalgam of communication of how somebody gels into a group of people, into a story, into a character... occasionally we make our own mistakes.'

Basically: sometimes, you think you have the right person for the job, and then you don't – and directors have to own that. No hard feelings, but also, no more Gosling as Jack Salmon. Enter Mark Wahlberg.

A Quick Breakdown: How We Got Here

• Ryan Gosling is cast as Jack Salmon in 'The Lovely Bones'
• Gosling puts on 60 pounds for the role, without, you know, really checking in
• Shows up to set; nobody recognizes the character the way he sees it
• He gets fired, replaced by Mark Wahlberg
• Peter Jackson calls casting changes the director's responsibility, and says Gosling isn't to blame

By Hollywood standards, this is a pretty strange mess. Who gains 60 pounds for a role without a little group chat first? And who dumps the star days before shooting? Even by behind-the-scenes standards, this one is a head-scratcher.

In the end, Jackson says it comes down to the unpredictable science of casting, and sometimes, even with a star like Gosling, the glue just doesn't stick.