Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon recently discussed her exit from the 2014 thriller film “Gone Girl,” a role that ultimately went to Rosamund Pike.
In a podcast interview, Witherspoon shared her insights on the film during its development phase. Initially, she was set to portray Amy Elliott Dunne, earning the approval of author Gillian Flynn and managing the project through her production company.
However, once director David Fincher joined the project, he made the decision not to cast 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,’” Witherspoon recounted on the “Las Culturistas” podcast.
She continued, “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 thriller, featuring Ben Affleck alongside Pike, marked a significant milestone for Pike, as she earned her first Academy Award nomination for best actress for her performance.
Witherspoon reflected on her conversation with Fincher, stating, “That was, first of all, an ego check for me. 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.”
“Gone Girl” tells the story of Nick Dunne, who finds himself under intense media scrutiny when his wife, Amy Dunne, mysteriously vanishes on their fifth wedding anniversary.
Despite her exit from “Gone Girl,” Witherspoon received an Oscar nomination for best actress that same year for her lead role in the biopic “Wild,” directed by her soon-to-be “Big Little Lies” collaborator Jean-Marc Vallée.
Currently, Witherspoon is starring in the fourth season of “The Morning Show,” and she produced both “Wild” and “Gone Girl.”