The Gray Man' on Netflix: The Russo Brothers on picking Ryan Gosling as lead character, 'Obsessed with Ryan'
Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans are generating headlines with 'The Gray Man's theatrical release. While the movie opened to mixed reviews from critics, the actors, and The Russo Brothers who directed the spy thriller have been dishing out new reveals about the blockbuster set to release on Netflix on July 22.
The 41-year-old Canadian actor headlines the action thriller sharing screen space with Bond girl Ana de Armas and 'Captain America' star Evans who plays a baddie with a pornstache. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Russo brothers and Gosling shared their thoughts on the movie 'The Gray Man' and the former shed light on why they picked Gosling as their lead star.
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"We've been obsessed with Ryan for the last two decades, just like everybody else," told Joe Russo to the outlet.." So, to get the opportunity to work with him was fantastic. This is a really interesting character who craves anonymity, who slips in and out of the shadows. There are long stretches of the movie that don't have a lot of dialogue." He also added: "Then, there are moments where he does talk, where he has to be very quirky and funny. It's very hard to find an actor who possesses Ryan's range in that regard. He's incredible with minimalism. He can convey an entire interior life with just a few looks. He plays the tension incredibly well, but he's also hilarious and quirky in the moments where the character needs to be."
Anthony Russo chipped in with his thoughts as well as calling Gosling the perfect fit. "The character arc is that he begins the movie in this place of living in the gray," he explained. "The movie is very much him coming out of that and emotionally committing. When we started to think about Ryan, it just felt like the perfect marriage of actor and role. I don't know if there was anybody that could convey that guarded version of the character, but also give intense intelligence, emotion, and charisma."
The official synopsis reads, "The Gray Man is CIA operative Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling), aka, Sierra Six. Plucked from a federal penitentiary and recruited by his handler, Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton), Gentry was once a highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death. But now the tables have turned and Six is the target, hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a former cohort at the CIA, who will stop at nothing to take him out. Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) has his back. He’ll need it."
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It adds: "Ryan Gosling is The Gray Man and Chris Evans is his psychopathic adversary in the Netflix/AGBO-produced thriller directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, starring Ana de Armas, with Regé-Jean Page, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Wagner Moura and Alfre Woodard. Based on the novel The Gray Man by Mark Greaney, the screenplay is by Joe Russo, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely. The producers are Joe Roth, Jeffery Kirschenbaum, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Mike Larocca, and Chris Castaldi. Executive producers are Patrick Newall, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Jake Aust, Angela Russo-Otstot, Geoff Haley, Zack Roth, and Palak Patel."
'The Gray Man' is running in select cinemas near you, and will release July 22 on Netflix.