By Gill Pringle
Marking a rare detour into action comedy territory, Ryan Gosling mixes it up impressively with The Nice Guys. Moving on from the intensity of Drive, The Ides Of March, Only God Forgives, and The Place Beyond The Pines; the manic fury of the satire, The Big Short; and the brooding trippiness of his little seen directorial debut, Lost River, Gosling’s latest in-front-of-the-camera effort rolls with punchy dialogue, a darkly comic tone, and a surprising strain of goofiness. In the 1970s-set The Nice Guys, the in-demand Canadian-born actor stars as hapless private investigator, Holland March, who is forced into working with Russell Crowe’s hired hard-man, Jackson Healy, in order to solve the case of a missing girl (Margaret Qualley) and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star. Also in the mix is young Australian actress, Angourie Rice, who plays Holly, the precocious and oft-neglected daughter of Gosling’s private eye.
You’re almost the world’s worst dad in this. Did you feel like you had to apologise to Angourie Rice?
“Yes. Russell and I were constantly like, ‘Oh, my God!’ But she was totally unfazed by it. She is an incredible kid, and her parents were constantly coming to set. She had such a great perspective on it, and she is such a great actress. She is still a young kid, and she doesn’t have that actor thing where they feel like they’re more grown up than you do. She is still a kid, but at the same time, she was professional about it all. But yes, we were very apologetic all the time.”
Since you were a child actor yourself, can you relate to all the kids being on set?
“I still remember being pulled from the scene to go to school in the trailer, and it’s a weird life to be a child actor. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you feel that you have no other choice on what to do.”
You were funny as a drunk in the film…is that how you are in real life as well?
“It’s hard for me to get drunk. I really have to work at it. Sometimes I just get frustrated and get up.”
You must have a good tolerance then.
“It’s because I’m Canadian. [Laughs] It’s in my blood.”
You’re in a lot of action scenes in the film, but also a lot of dramatic scenes…is either more difficult for you to do?
“I haven’t done an action film before, and I’ve never done a physical comedy, so those things were all very new. But I have done dramas, so the more dramatic elements of the film were not as challenging…although it was always challenging to do them justice. The biggest challenges were all the physical stuff, but that was also one of the main reasons to do it, and it was the most fun part for me. I grew up watching Mel Brooks and Peter Sellers and Abbott and Costello…they were my favourite kinds of film. But when I became an actor, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to do that.”
The friendship between you and Russell seems very natural…had you spent any time together beforehand? And will you remain good buddies?
“Honestly, truly, we never worked together. [Laughs] He was in a WETA facility in New Zealand, and he did all of his scenes there. [Laughs] But I hear that he’s a great guy, and I’m sure that I’ll meet him at the premiere. [Laughs] We had talked about the script beforehand, but we hadn’t worked together. In our first scene together, I had my pants around my ankles sitting on a toilet, and Russell was smoking in the corner. We were both laughing because it was so stupid. I felt then that it was going to be fun.”
You do comedies, drama, independent films…do you want to keep going in that direction as an actor?
“Yes, all of that! That sounds good! I hope that I keep having the opportunity to challenge myself, and to make things that are not only interesting to me, but also to connect with the audience. That’s ultimately what you’re trying to do, and you want to make something that connects with you, but that also connects with the audience. But you learn as it goes on what that is and you keep trying to develop that and make it better.”
And as a director, what direction would you like to take next?
“Well, I have a few things that I am developing, and they are different from one another, so whatever one feels ready first. But I learned a lot making that film, and that was one of the best experiences of my career.”
One of the best?
“Yeah, absolutely. Why?”
It was a tough sell…it was hard to get people in the theatre.
“Sure, you want to connect with the audience, and you want to make something that people see themselves in, but that you see yourself in as well. So it’s that feeling when you make something that you really connected to and it was really personal to you, but at the same time, the audience takes it in a personal way as well. I feel like it’s something that they would have made if they could. But it’s a process that you have to learn, and it’s a language that you need to speak to be able to be more fluent and communicate.”
So you wouldn’t direct Avengers 3 just to get success as a director?
“Well, I don’t think anyone is going to give me the opportunity. [Laughs] If someone gave me the opportunity, I would seriously consider it. It’s an interesting challenge.”
What about the Blade Runner sequel? Can you talk a little bit about that?
“I can’t believe it. [Laughs] I can’t believe it. First of all, on its own, the fact that Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott felt like they wanted to make another film and that there was more to the story to tell, is exciting as a fan. And then the fact that they think that I can help in some way, is a dream. And I would help if it just meant helping to paint the sets. [Laughs]”
Are you a replicant? What are you?
“Well, if I say anything more, my head will explode.”
How did you enjoy your 1970s wardrobe in The Nice Guys? You look pretty cool in it. Did you enjoy it? Did you keep anything?
“It’s hard to wear that stuff out now. It’s easy to make the time period the joke, and the costume designer did a really great job of not making fun of the 70s. The funny stuff in the movie is the actual jokes. It doesn’t lampoon the 70s. But it was hard to walk that line though, because there was so much fashion that’s pretty silly. We had to try and avoid those tropes. The 70s wasn’t something that I had a real affection for going into it, but it was a lot of fun and I gained a lot of appreciation for that era.”
What about 70s music?
“I find it hard to get into disco, but I dig The Jackson Five, and the early Michael Jackson stuff.”
You said once that one of the things that really made Hollywood a possibility for you was David Cronenberg. What has Hollywood been like for you, and would you like to work with Cronenberg sometime in the future?
“I am a huge fan of his. I wasn’t cool enough to know Cronenberg in the 80s when he was making films in Canada. I thought no one was making films in Canada. It was only in leaving that I realised that there was a whole film scene that I didn’t know about. But he certainly has done a lot for Canadian film and a lot for film in general. I am a big fan of his.”
You and Russell are chain smoking in this movie. Did they give you the herbal cigarettes like they used on Mad Men? Or vaporizers?
“No, they were real. But I never wanted to smoke again.”
It didn’t work for Russell then.
“No it didn’t, but it sure kicked it out of me.”
Can I ask about the Ryan Gosling colouring books?
“Yes.”
How did that even begin?
“I don’t know, but when you find out, will you tell me? Thank you, because I would like to find out.”
The Nice Guys is released in cinemas on May 26. Stay tuned for more on the film.
