Ryan Gosling: “We wanted to make a film that was hard-hitting without being macho.”

Nicolas Winding Refn presented Drive with the film’s lead actor Ryan Gosling. Alongside them were producers Marc E. Platt and Adam Siegel, editor Mat Newman and screenwriter Hossein Amini.

Nicolas Winding Refn spoke about the film:

“Being realistic is OK, but it’s not necessarily very interesting. We weren’t aiming to make a documentary. But we wanted to strike a balance so that the film wouldn’t become over-stylised.”

He also reflected on his first experience in Hollywood:

“It was extraordinary, I was in this house with a swimming pool and an orange grove, it was mythical for me to be in that place. And the incredible thing was that everybody was helping me, while I had all these negative preconceptions. The producers were always there for me. I was able to make the movie I wanted to make.”

Ryan Gosling talked about the film:

 “We wanted to make a film that was hard-hitting without being macho. It needed a certain tenderness and purity. That’s why the dialogues are unlike those in other movies of this type. I wasn’t there just to play the macho opposite a sex symbol.”

Marc E. Platt admired Ryan Gosling’s acting prowess:

“When Ryan’s character spoke, it sounded wrong. He acted a lot with his body, he communicated his feelings with just a look. It was great art. You need a lot of experience to convey your feelings that way.”

Ryan Gosling remembered how the project got off the ground:

“Marc E. Platt sent me the script and I said ‘yes’ right away. He offered to let me choose the director. I immediately thought of Nicolas who is one of my favourite directors and who has his own style. I knew we could make a really special film if he accepted.”

Interview by A.C.