Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling went full method while filming their 2010 flick Blue Valentine, with the mother of four revealing that it was a "horrible" experience living with the actor.
The pair portrayed a couple whose marriage was falling apart in the film, which garnered Michelle an Oscar nomination a year later.
Playing house
© WireImageDuring filming, Ryan and Michelle lived together for months to get into character, and would often create arguments between themselves to reflect the story.
"We took a break in filming. We shot the first part when they're young and in love and everything's going really well," she shared on the Armchair Expert podcast. "And then we took a two-week break, and we lived together."
She added that they didn't live together full-time, as she had a daughter to look after. Michelle explained that they had "office hours, baby, like nine to five," calling it a "professional situation."
© Corbis via Getty Images"We did these improvisations during the day, honestly, to figure out ways to annoy each other," she continued. "And to destroy this thing that we had made."
The 44-year-old explained that they began to live together after they struggled to act angry towards each other, so the director suggested they create arguments between them.
"And then he would say, 'After you've had this frustrating day, now you're gonna go take your daughter to the amusement park and try and have a good time,'" she recalled.
© Corbis via Getty Images"I don't know if anybody could work like that again. You've got a crew that's on hold. You're paying people I mean, it's such a small movie, so, so low budget and a small crew, but you're taking a big down period in the middle of the thing."
She added that it was "horrible" to fight with Ryan, as they had become good friends on set. "I don't wanna give you reasons to hate me or, think I'm obnoxious," she said. "We were having such a good time. The party has to be over so soon."
Method acting
© Getty ImagesRyan opened up about their unusual filming experience in an interview with NPR's Fresh Air in 2010, explaining how they dismantled their relationship.
"During the month, we tried to dismantle this thing that we had been building," he said. "We all worked really hard to create this love story portion when they're falling in love. We wanted it to feel genuine and real and true. And we spent all of this time building it up, and then we had to tear it down."
He shared that they even celebrated Christmas and birthdays together to add to the authenticity of emotions. "Whatever we could do to create real memories, so when it came time to shoot the [last] part of the film, we were drawing on real memories."
"Most movies, you have to try and forget you're making a movie, because there are trailers and booms and lights and marks, and it's everywhere," he said. "And with this, you're trying to remember that it is a movie, because it's so easy to get lost in it."
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