Ryan Gosling Interview For ‘The Ides of March’

Directed and starring George Clooney, ‘The Ides of March’ takes place during the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, where an up-and-coming campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate’s shot at the presidency. Alongside Ryan Gosling and George Clooney the film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Max Minghellal, Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood. ‘The Ides Of March’ opens in cinemas October 7th in the US and October 28th in the UK. The movie will be Clooney’s fourth film as director after ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,’ ‘Good Night and Good Luck’ and ‘Leatherheads.’ Check out what Ryan Gosling had to say about the film below.

Can you talk a little about your character Stephen Meyers?

Ryan Gosling: I play a character who’s basically played a lot of dirty pool, and is really excited not to have to do that anymore because he’s working for a guy who’s a good guy, and doesn’t want to do that – so he’s over the moon about that. Then he’s forced with this moral dilemma, which is that it looks like his guy is not going to get the job. So should he dance with the one who brung him, or should he go with the guy who’s going to win? Because if he goes with that guy, he’s gonna get into the Whitehouse and he’ll be able to really make a difference in people’s lives. So he’s put in this really morally compromising position. He makes choices that create an internal landscape for himself where his soul can’t really live or function in those conditions.

Your character faces some huge dilemmas in this film, his loyalty and ambition gets severely tested…

Ryan Gosling: Yeah, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays my boss, he’s a good guy and I respect him, and I want to do right by him. But Paul Giamatti’s character works for the other guy, he has Phillip’s job, for the opponent. It looks like they are going to win so my character is really stuck in a tough spot, he’s trying to figure out if he stays loyal to his friends, or whether he stays loyal to the greater good. He could be loyal to these guys, or he could be loyal to the American people who he wants to help, it’s a tough call for him.

This story could be set it a variety of settings, I didn’t just see it as a “political” movie.

Ryan Gosling: Yeah, the movies a thriller, it’s a good old fashioned thriller. It’s not a political film really, it doesn’t have any really political messages, or a political agenda, it’s just set in a political backdrop. It could really be happening anywhere, it could be happening on Wall Street, or in Hollywood, it just happens to be in the world of politics in these primaries. I guess because it’s a good place to set a drama, it heightens the stakes.

How did you find working with George Clooney, both off and on set for ‘The Ides of March’?

Ryan Gosling: He’s a really interesting guy, he’s so busy. Every day he’s acting, directing, writing, he’s producing, he’s got all of his work in Sudan that he’s doing. He’s playing basketball at lunch, he’s keeping up with the scores from the games. He’s just a high functioning….I don’t know how to explain that guy (laughs). He’s complicated, and watching it made it even more confusing, how someone can operate at that level all the time.

How did you find his direction, especially as he’s an actor himself?

Ryan Gosling: The relationship between a director and actor, it’s always kind of personal. George was possessed about this film, he was just possessed by it. I just trusted him and I just allowed him to take me into this world. It was great to work with a director like George, who is as clear as he is, who knows exactly what he wants. Sometimes it felt like someone trying to explain a song that’s in their head. He knows this film inside out, I was surprised by his level of enthusiasm for filmmaking. He only wanted to talk about the film, it was like talking to the movie in real time. He was very clear and he would give you this incredible direction, and it was focused, and he’d walk away, and you’d realize he was spraying an Evian bottle on your crotch. And then he’d make you do your big scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti with wet pants (laughs).

You got to work with an amazing cast….

Ryan Gosling: All these great actors, they’re just the best – Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Max Minghella, Jeffrey Wright, George Clooney. They’re just great actors, they’re all the actors you love, and they’re all in one place. I wanted to work with George. If George asks you to be in his movie, you just do the movie. And all of these actors are my favourite actors, so it was just a no-brainer for me.