Ryan Gosling Was Almost Cast on ‘Gilmore Girls’: Why Didn’t It Work Out?
Gilmore Girls cast several actors who would later go on to become huge stars. Melissa McCarthy is the most obvious example from the main cast — but even actors with one- or two-episode arcs like Jon Hamm and Nick Offerman got offered one of their first jobs in the industry from Gilmore Girls. Apparently, Ryan Gosling was almost one of those actors. The casting directors revealed that they wanted to put the Notebook star on the WB series — so why didn’t we get to see Gosling on Gilmore?
The ‘Gilmore Girls’ cast almost included Ryan Gosling
On the podcast Gilmore Girls discussion podcast Gilmore Guys, the casting directors from the beloved series, Mara Casey and Jami Rudofsky shared their experience putting actors on the show.
“You know who … auditioned for Gilmore Girls?” Rudofsky asked the podcast hosts. She explained: “I had met a guy on a very small, independent feature I was doing and I was obsessed with him.” She immediately pitched the actor to her fellow casting director and Amy Sherman-Palladino, the Gilmore Girls showrunner.
“And, I’m like, Mara, Amy, this guy is a huge star, you guys are gonna love him,” she said.
Why we sadly never saw Gosling in any ‘Gilmore Girls’ episodes
Rudofsky continued that the actor came in to cast for a small part on the series:
… he was nice enough to come in to read, and he wasn’t who he is now. But, he came into read for us for like a football guy and he so wasn’t the football guy.
However, Rudofsky kept pressing: “No, this guy is brilliant, you guys.” Sherman-Palladino and Casey didn’t see the potential.
“… they’re like, we don’t get it,” the Gilmore casting director recalled. Eventually, she relented, realizing that despite his talent, the actor would not work out for the WB show.
“… I just knew he wasn’t the right fit for Gilmore Girls,” she explained on the podcast. Then, she finally revealed: “his name was Ryan Gosling.”
However, Rudofsky more than proved her skill in casting, considering she saw the young Gosling’s potential for stardom.
“I kept selling him,” she continued. Still, she believes that even Gosling knew he wasn’t right for the part.
“He doesn’t have the Gilmore Girls vibe, so he didn’t feel it,” Rudofsky shared. “I don’t think he felt it – he knew it wasn’t the right fit.”
What movies and TV shows had Ryan Gosling done at the time?
While the casting directors didn’t mention the exact year they attempted to cast Gosling, we would assume it happened in one of the earlier seasons of Gilmore Girls — back when Gosling was a more struggling actor than movie star.
By the early 2000s, he had been cast in a few different TV series — but we’re wondering if Gosling was eyed for the football player role on Gilmore Girls because of his appearance in the 2000 film Remember the Titans. (Gosling played the role of Alan Bosley).
He wouldn’t take on the title of teen-heartthrob until a few years later, with the 2004 movie The Notebook. By then, Gosling was probably way too big for Gilmore Girls.
But we’re still lamenting the fact that Gosling could have caught the eye of Sherman-Palladino and been one of Rory’s high school boyfriends. Alas, maybe in another lifetime.
