The Only Cast Member From The Notebook Ryan Gosling Had Beef With
It may be hard to believe, but modern-day romance classic "The Notebook," based on a true story, was released nearly two decades ago. Based on the book by Nicholas Sparks and directed by Nick Cassavetes, "The Notebook" chronicles the love story of Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) as they navigate the obstacles of their differing social statuses at the turn of the century. The audience is told the tale through an older gentleman named Duke, who tells the love story to a woman battling dementia in a nursing home. Naturally, the elderly pair is revealed to be the present-day Noah and Allie.
"The Notebook" has developed a loyal following, despite debuting with some mixed critical reactions (via Rotten Tomatoes). In the internet age, some of this following developed through the real-life relationship of Gosling and McAdams, which began a couple of years after they filmed the movie.
As it turns out, Gosling and McAdams' real-life relationship may have imitated art more than most might assume. Based on various sources, Gosling and McAdams' tense relationship behind the scenes might have mirrored the constantly bickering, on-again-and-off-again relationship of Noah and Allie.
Ryan Gosling frequently clashed with Rachel McAdams on The Notebook set
In 2014, Nick Cassavetes spoke to VH1, reflecting on "The Notebook," whose cast almost looked completely different, and gave fun facts about the movie previously unknown to viewers. This interview was of particular interest because he revealed the tumultuous ups and downs of Gosling and McAdams' on-set relationship. According to Cassavetes, Gosling was concerned that he wouldn't be able to work with McAdams and wanted her fired from the movie.
Cassavetes recalls one particular day when the tensions between the pair were at an all-time high. "Maybe I'm not supposed to tell this story, but they were really not getting along one day on set," he told VH1. Awkwardly, it occurred while filming a scene with many other cast and extras, up to 150 people on set. "And he's doing a scene with Rachel, and 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,'" Cassavetes recounted.
Apparently, tensions cooled off that day. "We went into a room with a producer; they started screaming and yelling at each other," Cassavetes told the outlet. It seems that this helped, as filming was easier from there. "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," he said.
Ryan Gosling says that his and McAdams' relationship was more romantic than Noah and Allie's
In 2007, Ryan Gosling discussed his relationship with Rachel McAdams in an interview with GQ. At the time of the interview, Gosling and McAdams were already separated, but he reflected on their time together fondly. "I mean, God bless 'The Notebook' ... It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life," he told them. "But people do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that."
According to Gosling, his and McAdams' relationship was so publicly embraced that they had to console people over their separation instead of the other way around. He told GQ, "Women are mad at me ... A girl came up to me on the street, and she almost smacked me ... I feel like I want to give people hugs; they seem so sad. Rachel and I should be the ones getting hugs! Instead, we're consoling everybody else."