Reese Witherspoon opened up about exiting the 2014 thriller “Gone Girl” while the film was in development. At the time, Witherspoon had been attached to star in the adaptation as Amy Elliott Dunne, receiving approval from author Gillian Flynn and shepherding the project through her production company, now called Hello Sunshine. However, once director David Fincher came aboard, he decided against casting her in the role.
“David sat me down — and this is not on David — but David’s like, ‘You’re totally wrong for this part, and I’m not putting you in it,’” Reese said, speaking on Wednesday’s episode of the “Las Culturistas” podcast. “I had all these conversations with the writer Gillian Flynn, and she was like, ‘No, I’d really like you to do it.’ … But [Fincher] was like, ‘You’re wrong.’”
The tricky role ended up going to Rosamund Pike, who led the dark romantic comedy with Ben Affleck. The thriller proved a breakthrough for Pike, who scored her first Academy Award nomination for the film, landing a nod for best actress. The film was also a box office hit; at $369 million worldwide, it ranks as the highest-grossing release of Fincher’s career.
“That was, first of all, an ego check for me,” Witherspoon recalled about her conversation with Fincher. “It was like, ‘No, you’re not right for everything.’ And he was right. He was totally right. … Fincher just killed it. And Rosamund Pike is so diabolical and Ben Affleck is sort of the rube on the other side of it.”
Witherspoon ended up scoring a best actress Oscar nomination that same year anyways, leading the biopic “Wild” from her soon-to-be “Big Little Lies” director Jean-Marc Vallée. Witherspoon produced both “Wild” and “Gone Girl.” Now, she is starring in the fourth season of “The Morning Show,” which debuted its premiere on Apple TV+ on Wednesday.
