Alongside his roles in critically acclaimed films such as Barbie, La La Land and Bladerunner, Ryan Gosling first made a lasting impression on fans in the 2004 release of The Notebook. The heartbreaking romantic drama saw the actor play Noah Calhoun, while Rachel McAdams starred as his character’s love interest, Allie Hamilton.
Although their portrayal left viewers across the world in tears, with their bond on screen undeniably palpable, behind the scenes, the actors were far from close. Tensions were reportedly high on set as the co-stars, who later dated from 2005 until 2007, shared many heated exchanges while filming. So much so that Ryan is said to have requested that Rachel be replaced with another actress for The Notebook.
According to director Nick Cassavetes, the stars were constantly at loggerheads while filming.
“Maybe I’m not supposed to tell this story, but they were really not getting along one day on set. Really not,” he recalls to VH1.
“And Ryan came to me, and there’s 150 people standing in this big scene, and he says, ‘Nick, come here,’ and he’s doing a scene with Rachel.”
The director recalled: “He says, ‘Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off camera with me?’ I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘I can’t. I can’t do it with her. I’m just not getting anything from this.’”
After realising the success of the film hung in the balance of the actors’ performance, Nick held a therapy session for the two.
He revealed: “We went into a room with a producer; they started screaming and yelling at each other. I walked out.
“At that point, I was smoking cigarettes. I smoked a cigarette, and everybody came out like, ‘All right, let’s do this.’ And it got better after that, you know? They had it out.”
According to the filmmaker: “I think Ryan respected her for standing up for her character, and Rachel was happy to get that out in the open. The rest of the film wasn’t smooth sailing, but it was smoother sailing.”
Despite this, the co-stars decided to date one year after the film’s release, however their romance ended in 2007.
While Rachel has since moved on with partner, screenwriter Jamie Linden, and welcomed two kids together, Ryan has been in a relationship with actress Eva Mendes, and they share two daughters.