The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub sits down to discuss David Leitch’s
The Fall Guy
with co-stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.
Gosling and Blunt discuss challenging stunts, emotional scenes that got cut, and how Leitch captured the filmmaking family dynamic for this meta action movie.
The duo also talk about the iconic Alan Rickman, Steven Spielberg’s love for
The Fall Guy
, and sequels to their movies, like Shane Black’s
The Nice Guys
.

In The Fall Guy, director David Leitch’s latest film, stars Ryan Gosling (Barbie) and Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) have been setting the trailers and sneak-peeks on fire with their charm and chemistry. In this interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, their magnetism takes center stage as they quip about the iconic Alan Rickman (Die Hard), Steven Spielberg’s (The Fabelmans) love for The Fall Guy, and their ducking crazy movie of the century.

Helmed by a stuntman-turned-filmmaker and based on the five-season television series in the ’80s, The Fall Guy is a love story tucked neatly into an action-mystery. When Colt Seavers (Gosling) is down on his luck, an opportunity presents itself to come to the aid of his ex, director Jody Moreno (Blunt). In order to save her blockbuster, Colt will have to use his skills as a stuntperson to save the star of Jody’s movie, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and get to the bottom of a conspiracy.

Check out the full interview in the video above, or the transcript below, to find out which scene the Academy Award nominee, Gosling, was most hesitant to film and why, and for a Taylor Swift-sized tease about a very emotional scene and why it was cut down. The duo also share their thoughts on which projects they’d want to do a sequel for (any fans of The Nice Guys?), why Gosling is still angry about Angry Bird years later, and getting Spielberg’s stamp of approval for The Fall Guy, and more.

The Fall Guy A down-and-out stuntman must find the missing star of his ex-girlfriend’s blockbuster film.Release Date May 3, 2024 Runtime 114 minutes Writers Drew Pearce , Glen A. Larson

RYAN GOSLING: Cool shirt.

COLLIDER: I wore this shirt specifically for this junket.

EMILY BLUNT: That shirt is my favorite. I love that shirt. Do you know that was the actual face he made? Do you know the story?

GOSLING: That’s Rickman, right?

BLUNT: Yeah, that’s Alan Rickman. It’s in Die Hard. When he was dropped off the building, that is literally the face he made because he was very scared. I watched the behind-the-scenes of it.

Image via 20th Century Fox

GOSLING: Oh my god. “I’m gonna cut your heart out with a spoon.” Why a spoon? Why not a knife or a dagger or something sharp? “Because it’s dull, you twit! It’ll hurt worse.”

BLUNT: [Laughs] What?

GOSLING: Remember that?

BLUNT: No!

GOSLING: From Robin Hood [Prince of Thieves].

BLUNT: Oh, yes!

GOSLING: Oh my god.

That’s one of his best roles, even though people don’t consider it one of his best roles.

BLUNT: I feel like him as Snape is one of my favorites. I’m gonna go with Snape this Halloween just because I wanna say, “[Page 394].” That’s my favorite line he says.

I want to jump into this real quick just because this movie is fucking awesome. Sorry for the curse, but it’s deserved.

BLUNT: Love it. Did you say “bucking?”

No, I dropped the F bomb.

BLUNT: You did? [Laughs] Okay, great.

GOSLING: You said “ducking,” right?

Yes, that’s exactly what I said.

‘The Fall Guy’ Is the Movie of the Century

I really want to start with congrats. I think this movie works on every level. I’m sure you’re hearing that from everyone.

GOSLING: We like hearing it though.

BLUNT: We do love hearing it. Why is it a bottomless pit of need for us?

GOSLING: I don’t know. One review said, “This movie exists to make you happy.”

BLUNT: That was just heaven.

GOSLING: And I thought that we couldn’t say it any better. We really did try and make something that was like…

BLUNT: That other guy just said this is the movie of the century. Come on!

I think that’s a bold statement. I’m not sure if I’d necessarily run with that.

BLUNT: [Laughs] Watch out, Lawrence of Arabia.” We’re coming for you.

GOSLING: Yeah, I think that’s pretty ducking crazy.

BLUNT: Yeah. That’s ducking crazy.

I will say, though, it’s such a fun movie that I don’t see anyone going to see this in the theater and walking out and being like, “Oh, that wasn’t good.”

BLUNT: They’d have to be dead inside to feel that, right?

GOSLING: There’s the quote.

BLUNT: There’s the quote. [Laughs] “If you don’t feel anything, you’re dead inside.”

Emily Blunt Is Down to Join Ryan Gosling in ‘The Nice Guys 2’
Image via Warner Bros.

You guys have done such great roles throughout your careers. Obviously, a few of them meant more than others. If you could go and make a sequel to anything you’ve done in the past, what would you make and why? For Ryan, there’s only one right answer, and it’s called The Nice Guys.

BLUNT: He’s gonna say Salmon Fishing in the Yemen because he just loves saying that title.

GOSLING: [Laughs] It is one of the greatest titles.

BLUNT: It’s one of the greatest titles, and bound to be a commercial smash.

GOSLING: It just makes you lean in. You’re like, “Wait…”

BUNT: You’re gonna be running to the theaters to watch Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. What would you like to see again?

I mean, the obvious answer is Edge of Tomorrow 2.

BLUNT: I knew you were gonna say that. You’re an Edgy.

It’s true.

GOSLING: Aren’t we all?

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

BLUNT: Oh, gosh. To put on that suit again. Yeah, maybe that one.

GOSLING: Maybe they’ve evolved the suits.

BLUNT: Maybe there’s a little more R&D on the suits next time, because there wasn’t enough the first time. Next? Nice Guys.

GOSLING: Let’s do it. But I’m saying, we came out against Angry Birds. Angry Birds destroyed us.

BLUNT: He’s still a bit of an angry bird about it.

GOSLING: I’m an angry bird about it. Angry Birds got the sequel. So, you’re gonna have to talk to them.

In all seriousness, for anyone watching this interview that has not seen The Nice Guys, for the love of god, watch it.

BLUNT: Run to watch it. It’s heaven. It’s so good.

Shane Black at his best.

BLUNT: Oh, it’s so good.

It’s ridiculous.

BLUNT: And also the best drunk acting you’ve ever seen.

GOSLING: Wow.

BLUNT: It’s one of my favorite bits where you go, “Come on, shoot me. Shoot me, shoot me,” and then you fall off the building. [Laughs] You fall off the building! It’s so good.

GOSLING: Oh, no. That was so good. Can you just be me in the sequel?

BLUNT: Yes!

GOSLING: That would get a sequel.

BLUNT: Oh my god, I’m in.

GOSLING: If Emily were in it, it would have happened.

BLUNT: It’s just me and Russell Crowe. That’s my dream.

Related Why Ryan Gosling’s Best Performance Is ‘The Nice Guys’ The actor proved that he can strike the perfect balance between drama and comedy.

In all seriousness, if you decided that you wanted to be a part of the sequel, and [Ryan] and Russell, honest to god, we could will it into existence.

BLUNT: Do it now.

GOSLING: We’ll do a Kickstarter.

BLUNT: Greenlight it. This is gold.

I’m actually gonna send this to people at Warner Bros.

BLUNT: Please do.

You think I’m joking, but I’m not.

BLUNT: No, no, no. Do it. I’m so in. I will turn up for a scene.

Mike DeLuca is getting an email right after this when I get home with the footage.

GOSLING: Do it on Angry Birds stationery.

‘The Fall Guy’ Got Steven Spielberg’s Stamp of Approval

So Ryan, I have an individual question for you. What’s cooler, singing “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars, being able to get a movie made because you’re attached to it, or having Steven Spielberg come up to you because he knows who you are and loved The Fall Guy?

GOSLING: Steven Spielberg every time.

BLUNT: Double S for the win.

GOSLING: That was crazy.

BLUNT: So you didn’t think he was coming to speak to you?

GOSLING: He was coming across the room, and I was looking, and I was like, “There’s no way. I don’t know Steven Spielberg. He’s not coming to talk to me.”

BLUNT: But, like, a beeline for you.

GOSLING: And then he keeps walking, and then I was like, I know what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna go [points at self and raises eyebrows], and he’s gonna go, “No, not you. Behind you.” Then finally, he was right there — and now I’m being rude if it is me — and I went, “Me?” And he went, “Yeah.”

BLUNT: “Yeah, you.”

GOSLING: And then he said he loved The Fall Guy.

BLUNT: I love that he loved The Fall Guy.

David [Leitch] told me that what Steven was interested in was exactly what I was interested in, which is the opening shot of the movie, because the opening shot is fantastic.

GOSLING: Oh, it was just that? It was just the shot, huh? [Laughs]

No, he asked David, “How did the shot get made,” because the opening shot is a fantastic oner that involves the two of you.

GOSLING: And some spicy margaritas.

BLUNT: And a couple of spicy margaritas, guys.

Ryan Gosling Was Terrified of ‘The Fall Guy’s Opening Oner
Image via Universal

Being specific though, I was told you’re not a fan of heights.

GOSLING: Not a fan.

And this scene involves you going up an elevator to go do a real stunt involving heights, and you need to play Colt with uber confidence. You’re not nervous about anything, but inside, you’re probably scared shitless. So talk a little bit about filming that scene, that oner.

GOSLING: It starts in the trailers. It’s an amazing shot, and I totally got why it had to be this way, but it was challenging.

BLUNT: It’s showing the whole world, the whole world of being on a movie set, the birth of their relationship, and all of it.

GOSLING: The family of a set, the dynamic. It’s just the most fun job. One of the most fun jobs in the world. I think David did such a great job of communicating that.

BLUNT: That elevator went up fast, as well. That scared me a little bit.

GOSLING: It goes up 12 stories. At the end, I put on sunglasses because I had terrified owl eyes, and I couldn’t hide it.

BLUNT: We were terrified for you.

GOSLING: I was managing to keep my shaking down and to keep my body from turning to stone, but I had to put these on. And it makes no sense because I’m falling backwards anyway. There’s no need to wear sunglasses.

BLUNT: Do you know which bit kills me? It’s when you’re kind of holding on to the rope…

GOSLING: I didn’t wanna let go of the rope.

BLUNT: And then you let go, and you literally go, [gestures a thumbs up]. I was like, “Oh god, that bit must’ve been awful.”

GOSLING: Yeah. And then I have to try and give the thumbs up.

BLUNT: [Laughs] And it was quite a small one because that’s about all you could muster.

GOSLING: Yeah, no. No shaking. There was nothing that might move the rig.

BLUNT: Stillness.

Taylor Swift and Tears Got This ‘Fall Guy’ Scene Cut
Image via Taylor Swift

One of my other favorite scenes in the movie is not action. I’m gonna be specific with this. It involves Taylor Swift, it involves you in the car, you’re very emotional, you’re crying, and it involves you. It’s the banter and the chemistry between you two in that scene that is, to me, one of the highlights of the movie. Can you sort of talk about filming that scene and, being honest, having someone who’s so in the zeitgeist, now part of the movie, even though when she signed on, it was before all of this?

GOSLING: Who hasn’t had a good car cry to Taylor Swift, right? So it felt kind of obvious in a way.

BLUNT: I actually wasn’t sure to what lengths you’d go with your car cry, so when the window went down, I was like, “Wow.”

GOSLING: I went too far.

BLUNT: You were very emotional!

GOSLING: Now they cut to me post-cry because they didn’t want to include the actual cut because it wasn’t pretty.

BLUNT: Your face was so wet. But actually, it sparked off the scene in a very funny way that I was like, “Have you been crying? What’s wrong with you?” The scene was sort of scripted to a certain extent, and then we were able just to improv, and that’s always the fun part because he’s such a master at it and it’s so joyful doing those kinds of scenes with Ryan. I think that scene is fun to play because it’s sort of the aftermath of the fire burn scene, so maybe she’s a little ashamed about what she did, but she kind of loved it as well. It feels quite cleansed after it. It’s them awkwardly trying to find their feet with each other again. It was such a fun one to do.

GOSLING: And just for an action movie to be able to have a scene like that, to have those two things coexist in one place, is sort of what makes the movie special.

The Fall Guy hits theaters on May 3.

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