‘Never had a film take a bigger chunk out of me’: Ryan Gosling solo in space for Project Hail Mary 

LOS ANGELES – A great deal of Ryan Gosling’s journey through the film Project Hail Mary unfolded in solitude.

The Oscar nominee and star of La La Land (2016) spent long stretches filming alone on set or acting opposite an alien creature his character Ryland Grace dubs Rocky.

“A lot of times, I’d be locked into the set for hours on end with an earwig,” the 45-year-old Canadian actor said. “The directors would talk to me through the mic, ready to explore. There’s an experimentation process that keeps it from being a typical blockbuster. It’s not overwhelmed by its own scale.”

The science-fiction drama – adapted from American author Andy Weir’s best-selling 2021 novel of the same name – is directed by the Spider-Verse franchise (2018 to 2027) writing-directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It follows mild-mannered science teacher Ryland, who wakes up alone on a spacecraft and slowly remembers he is humanity’s last hope to stop the sun from dying.

His mission takes an unexpected turn when he forms an unlikely friendship with an alien partner.

The cast also features German actress Sandra Huller as Eva, a government official who recruits Ryland for the perilous assignment. With their characters leading experts in their fields, Gosling said the actors were well-supported behind the scenes.

“We had molecular biologists on set for the experiments, and astronauts advising us,” he said. “We were provided with the best possible team and support system.”

Gosling’s involvement went deeper than starring in the film. Weir, who also wrote the award-winning novel The Martian (2011), sent him the unpublished manuscript for Project Hail Mary and urged him to not only take the lead role, but also to help shape the project as a producer.

“I’ve never had a film take a bigger chunk out of me, but it’s never been more worth it,” Gosling said. “It’s been a six-year journey to this point and just an experience of a lifetime.”

As Hollywood grapples with existential questions and fickle audiences, one of its top stars has a simple credo.

“In this stage of my life, if I’m going to make films, I want it to be a film that is worth going to the theatre to see,” he told journalists in mid-March in Paris, where he was promoting Project Hail Mary.

“I was moved by Andy’s point of view, or this lens that he looks at the world through, which is, he gives you this opportunity to pivot away from fear, to maybe approach fear with curiosity, and to say maybe the future isn’t something to be afraid of, but just to be figured out.”

Gosling, who has two daughters aged 12 and 10 with American actress Eva Mendes, added that the movie – a dramatic comedy – “felt like something I really wanted to make for my kids, and hopefully for their generation”.

He also reflected on his three-decade trajectory in Hollywood, which has seen him rise to the top tier of actors and – as displayed in Barbie (2023) – show off his long-hidden comedy chops.

“It took me a while to realise that I could do things the way I wanted to,” he said.

He started out in dramatic roles in serious independent films, in which there was the unspoken rule that nothing funny can happen. Now, however, he feels the door has opened to roles offering wider range.

Miller said Gosling aptly married drama and comedy in Project Hail Mary.

“Few people can make you laugh and cry at the same scene and moment. It’s hard to think of other people who could have done what Ryan did in this movie and do it in a way that feels authentic and true,” he said. REUTERS, AFP