In the world of cinema, where new films are released on a regular basis, only a few manage to maintain their reputation for decades. One such film was The Notebook, with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the key roles. Even two decades after its premiere, the film is still regarded as one of the most acclaimed love stories of all time.

While the film created gorgeous scenes on screen, the off-screen situation was more problematic, with the primary cast allegedly feuding with one another. Now adding to it is something that Gosling had to do for the movie that every actor despises.

Ryan Gosling’s commitment for his role in The Notebook

When it comes to The Notebook, it would be difficult to picture any other actor playing the character of Noah apart from Ryan Gosling. Further, after convincing the production company, New Line Cinema, director Nick Cassavetes got Gosling on board.

The main rationale behind Cassavetes casting Gosling was that he stood out from the other performers in Hollywood at the time. The actor confirmed the same in a 2012 interview (via Vanity Fair) and revealed:

He (Nick Cassavetes) looked at me and said, ‘I want you to play this role because you’re not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You’re not handsome, you’re not cool, you’re just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts.

Just getting on board was not enough for the actor; he had to put in a lot of effort to understand his character’s psychology. The film was shot in reverse, so the scene where Noah and Allie met after seven years was filmed first.

At the time, the plot needed the actor to have a beard and a muscular build. However, when it came to filming the initial scenes of the movie, he was asked to reduce about 20 pounds of that muscle weight.

The most difficult aspect of this was dropping the extra weight quickly before the cast returned from their Christmas break. This is just one of the many reasons why some actors despise it, since it pushes them to the extreme and might have a bad effect on their overall health and well-being.

Director shares a regret concerning The Notebook cast decades after its release

The film, based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel, was wonderfully directed by Nick Cassavetes and continues to have a large fan following.

Now, while commemorating its 20th anniversary on Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker admitted that he shouldn’t have divulged the sensitive information of the feud between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams on set, and added-

I regretted it. Everyone’s like, why are you telling that? I’m like, I don’t know. It caught me on a bad day, but if (Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling) are around, I apologize to you guys. I shouldn’t have spilled the beans

In 2014, the director disclosed to VH1 (via EW) that the actors were bickering and arguing on the set. The disagreement escalated to the point where Gosling had to request that Cassavetes send in a new actress to read off-camera alongside him.

However, the actors began dating each other in 2005, a year after the film’s premiere, but split up in 2007.

The Notebook can be streamed on Redbox, Vudu, Google Play and iTunes.