Saturday, April 30, 2016

Does It Matter What "They" Think?



The #1 refrain I hear from people who come to me seeking to build-up their confidence is, “I’m afraid of what people will say / think of me.”  So much time, so much energy is spent worrying about “them.”  And certainly I get it – I’ve wasted so much time worrying and I’ve silenced myself on way too many occasions out of concern and fear.

Recently I came across an item on the Huffington Post that caught my eye.  It’s short and so I’m reprinting it here. . .as you read this, imagine (if you can) that you’re Ryan Gosling. . .


No one likes Noah. At least, according to author Nicholas Sparks, no wanted to play the part of “Noah” in the screen version of “The Notebook.”

During a conversation with IMDb Asks on Wednesday, Sparks revealed the difficulties he had casting the famously romantic leading role.

“It was really interesting because a lot of the actors said, “Well, what’s Noah’s arc?” Sparks said. “It’s a guy who falls in love and then he just kinda does nothing, and then waits for her to show up and then he’s there and he’s still in love and then at the end of the film, well, he’s still in love. Where’s the arc? Ryan Gosling came in and he really brought that story to life.”

Gosling managed to bring the story to life, but he apparently landed the part because he wasn’t considered traditionally handsome by Hollywood standards and the film’s director. 

“[Director] Nick Cassavetes called me to meet him at his house. When I got there, he was standing in his backyard, and he looked at me and said, “I want you to play this role because you’re not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You’re not handsome, you’re not cool, you’re just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts,’” Gosling told Company magazine in 2011.

Definitely the kind of stuff that boosts your self-esteem, right?

I think it’s fair to say that Gosling’s life would be radically different today had he worried about “what will they think?”
Certainly gives me something to think about!

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