Reese Witherspoon explained how her desire to play Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) in “Gone Girl” was ultimately shut down by director David Fincher.
“David sat me down – and this is not on David – but David’s like, ‘You’re totally wrong for this part, and I’m not putting you in it,’” the “The Morning Show” star shared with Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers during an appearance on their podcast series “Las Culturistas.”
At the time, Witherspoon explained that “Gone Girl” was the film that debuted her entry into the producing world, and that’s when Rogers inquired about past reports that she was initially supposed to be the co-star alongside Ben Affleck.
“I had all these conversations with the writer Gillian Flynn, and she was like, ‘No, I’d really like you to do it,’” Witherspoon said, adding that her experience pivoting to producing will one day be the topic of a personal book she writes. “But he was like, ‘You’re wrong.’ That was first of all, an ego check for me. I was like, ‘No, you’re not right for everything.’ And he was right. He was totally right.”
“But why was he right? How did he rationalize that to you?” Yang asked.
“He didn’t have to, he’s David Fincher,” Witherspoon stated. “He literally says it this easy: ‘You’re wrong for this part and I’m not putting you in it.’”
Expounding on his question, Yang asked if her fame and notoriety impacted his decision.
“I think that is probably for him, yes. I brought an audience with me that likes me and wants me to win,” Witherspoon said, though admitting that she feels she doesn’t present as someone who’s “sinister or diabolical.”
While Rogers suggested that the role could have been an element of surprise for viewers and Witherspoon fans, the actress-producer said it’s all about what’s best for the story at the end of the day. She also applauded Rosamund Pike as being “perfect” for the job.
“Producing also means get out of the way when you’re supposed to,” Witherspoon explained. “Do your job to promote, continued to pull people together, continue to build creative groups so that the ultimate result is the best work that it could possibly be.”
While it’s all behind her, Witherspoon did spotlight that she faced challenges breaking into producing despite having successful projects.
“Behind the scenes a lot of stuff happened that was not cool, in terms of like my credits da, da, da,” Witherspoon said about “Gone Girl.” It took me till ‘Big Little Lies’ — so ‘Big Little Lies’ was like a year later, and Nicole [Kidman] and I produced that together — ’til people started taking me seriously as a producer. Honestly, I could not get traction even as a producer even with those hits and three Oscar nominations. It was really hard.”
“Gone Girl” premiered in theaters in October 2014 and starred Pike, Affleck, Emily Ratajkowski, Carrie Coon and more.
