Ryan Gosling did not know he was reading one of 2026's biggest films when Andy Weir sent him the unpublished manuscript of Project Hail Mary in 2020. "It felt like this project had a knife in my ribs," Gosling told IndieWire in an interview published Tuesday. He held the role for six years before directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller brought it to the screen for Amazon MGM Studios.
The film runs 156 minutes with Gosling in every scene, presenting a performance problem without an obvious solution. Lord and Miller rejected full CGI for the alien character Rocky, instead casting puppeteer James Ortiz and building a practical character. The decision came with a cost. "It was like the 'Jaws' shark," Gosling said. "Sometimes just the finger would work." When the puppet's arm mechanism failed to rotate properly, the production simply made Rocky's thumbs-up a thumbs-down instead.
Prolonged solo filming took a toll. On a set visit elsewhere, Gosling spoke with Julia Roberts about the isolation. She encouraged him to find a scene partner. He returned to set and asked the crew to build him one. They made a mop, which the production named Moppy Ringwald. "If you're having a problem and you can't solve it, talk to Julia Roberts," Gosling said.
Project Hail Mary opened on March 20, 2026, to a $141 million global weekend. The film is now streaming on Prime Video. With awards season underway, Gosling is considered a likely Oscar nomination contender for the role.
