Michelle Williams is revisiting one of the most emotionally taxing roles of her career, and the intense preparation that came with it. The Oscar-nominated actress opened up about the unconventional and "horrible" behind-the-scenes process she underwent with Ryan Gosling while filming the 2010 romantic drama 'Blue Valentine.'
Directed by Derek Cianfrance, the film is a raw portrait of a couple navigating the painful unraveling of their marriage. In a recent episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, she explained that midway through filming, the director insisted she and Gosling take a break, not to rest, but to immerse themselves in their characters’ disintegrating relationship.
“We took a break in filming, and [then] we lived together, office hours [style], like 9 to 5,” the actress recalled. “We did these improvisations during the day, honestly, to figure out ways to annoy each other and to destroy this thing that we had made.”
According to the star, the earlier scenes, where the characters were still deeply in love, were so convincing that Cianfrance felt the need to “burn it down.” The director staged a symbolic moment where the pair even burned their wedding photo.
“Derek was like, ‘We got to mess this up, and we need to burn it down,’” she shared. Despite the emotional toll, Williams said they moved forward with the plan, all in service of authenticity. “I didn’t want to give [Gosling] reasons to hate me,” she admitted. “It was horrible.”
Though the process achieved the result on screen, with Williams earning her second Oscar nomination, she said she would not do it again and doesn't think it would be duplicated. “I don’t know if anyone could work like that again,” she said.
“You’ve got a crew that’s on hold, you’re paying people. I mean, it was such a small movie, so low budget and a small crew, but you’re taking a big down period in the middle of [filming] and to what end, playing, exploring — try to justify that to a producer," she detailed.
'Blue Valentine 'was released in 2010 and continues to be a cult movie. While it only received one Academy Award nomination at the time, the drama has remained a standout for fans.