What did Nick Cassavetes say about Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling? 'The Notebook' director apologizes to the actors

Nick Cassavetes, who directed The Notebook, apologized to lead actors Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling for revealing they did not get along on the sets in a previous interview. In an Entertainment Weekly article published on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, discussing the film on its 20th anniversary, Cassavetes reflected on his past comments, saying:

"The last time I did an interview on this thing, I spilled the beans on that. I regretted it. Everyone's like, why are you telling that? I'm like, I don't know. It caught me on a bad day, but if (McAdams and Gosling) are around, I apologize to you guys. I shouldn't have spilled the beans."

Nick was referring to his 2014 interview with VH1, where he revealed there was initially some friction on set between the stars of one of the most beloved romantic films.

At the time, he admitted that following a tense scene between the two actors, Ryan requested that he replace Rachel. He even brought up a screaming match between the pair before things got better.

"It got better after that, you know? They had it out … I think Ryan respected her for standing up for her character and Rachel was happy to get that out in the open. The rest of the film wasn’t smooth sailing, but it was smoother sailing," he told VH1.

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"There was nothing they couldn't do"- Cassavetes praises Gosling and McAdams, credits them with The Notebook's success

The Notebook is a 2004 romantic drama film based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks of the same name. While it received mixed reviews at the time of its release, both Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were praised for their performances.

Over the years, it has become one of the most-rewatched romance films, even sparking a musical production based on the movie in 2022.

In his aforementioned interview, Cassavetes noted that things eventually got better between the co-stars. He told EW:

"They fell in love, and became a wonderful, wonderful fiery couple. I still think they got lots of respect and love for each other, but in the beginning, it wasn't like that."

Despite their initial disagreement, Ryan and Rachel dated each other shortly after wrapping up the film (from 2005 to 2007 and briefly in 2008). In 2005, The Notebook won the actors the MTV Award for Best Kiss, and they recreated their iconic kissing scene from the film while accepting the award.

Cassavetes even credited the film's becoming a "romantic classic" to his lead pair. He added:

"But they're both the greatest actors in the world, and some of the things that I asked them to play were so difficult, and there was nothing they couldn't do."

Talking about their breakup, The Fall Guy actor said in his 2007 interview with GQ that he was thankful to The Notebook for introducing him to "one of the great loves of (his) life," adding:

"The only thing I remember is we both went down swingin' and we called it a draw."

He later reflected on trying to get the Mean Girls actress kicked out of The Notebook to the Guardian, saying:

"I don’t know what happened. Two years later I saw her in New York and we started getting the idea that maybe we were wrong about each other."

Rachel McAdams, in a 2016 interview with Yahoo Movies UK, admitted to having "intense creative conversations" with her The Notebook co-star.

Gosling has since been together with actress Eva Mendes, and they share two daughters. McAdams is in a long-term relationship with screenwriter Jamie Linden, and they have two children.