Barbie star Ryan Gosling swaps Hollywood for rainy Southsea in new film
Hollywood star Ryan Gosling has been spotted in drizzly Southsea, filming his latest project.
Fans flocked to South Parade Pier in Southsea, Hampshire, where the Barbie star, 43, is filming Project Hail Mary – a science fiction film about a school teacher-turned astronaut on a mission to save the world from total extinction.
Based on the 2021 novel by Andy Weir, Ryan stars as Ryland Grace, who wakes up from a mysterious coma afflicted with amnesia, only to gradually remember that he’s a man on a mission.
Swapping Ken’s sunnies and pink fur coat for a yellow windbreaker jacket and a pair of spectacles, the Hollywood hunk was all smiles, laughing and joking with his co-stars and crew at the end of a scene.
As fans headed to the rainy beach in the hope of catching a glimpse of the actor, film trucks and minibuses were parked nearby. At the end of the pier, crew members mingled with fishermen, united in one thing:
Their job today is beach.
Produced by Ryan himself, Project Hail Mary has been planned for four years and is set for release on May 20, 2026.
Its IMDB synopsis reads: ‘Set in the near future, it centres on junior high school-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace, who wakes up from a coma afflicted with amnesia.
‘He gradually remembers that he was sent to the Tau Ceti solar system, 12 light-years from Earth, to find a means of reversing a solar dimming event that could cause the extinction of humanity.’
The film is directed by LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and also stars Milana Vayntrub and Sandra Hüller.
This marks the third Hollywood adaptation from author Andy Wier, who previously penned The Martian, which starred Matt Damon.
Directors Lord and Miller are also currently working on an adaptation of his 2017 book Artemis – a sci-fi novel which follows a porter and smuggler in the distant lunar city of Artemis.
The teacher in a tie and windbreaker is another striking look for the La La Land star, who appeared as rough-and-ready Colt Seavers earlier this year, in the comedy action film The Fall Guy.
Starring opposite Emily Blunt, he played a cocky Hollywood stuntman investigating a missing movie star while also trying to win back the love of his life (that would be Emily Blunt’s Jody Moreno).
In another shocking look, Ryan made headlines at that film’s premiere by showing up in costume (and in character) as teenage slacker Beavis, of Beavis and Butt-head fame – along with SNL star Mikey Day, who completed the other half of the double act.
Earlier this year, audiences fell in love with the Blade Runner 2049 star all over again, rediscovering him in the underrated thriller Fracture.
Directed by Gregory Hoblit, the film stars Ryan as hotshot lawyer Willy Beachum, who finds more than he bargained for when he takes on a seemingly open-and-shut case involving Sir Anthony Hopkins’ character.
According to streaming analysts at JustWatch, the film was the most-watched film in Ireland, as of early August.