Ryan Gosling had an unconventional costar for his new movie, Project Hail Mary, who was neither a human in the proper sense nor only a miracle of CGI.
The 45-year-old actor plays a science teacher in the movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, out in theatres on March 20, and his costar is Rocky.
Rocky was worked on by a puppeteering team, as well as a special effects team. Speaking about the special costar, Gosling said, “I don’t like to call him a puppet, but they’re calling him a puppet,” in conversation with People Magazine.
The Barbie star tried to describe him but could only say, “I think he’s more of a …Well, he’s a diva, let’s be honest. Very high-maintenance. Has his own glam squad.”
The spider-like, rock-shaped creature was based on “five puppeteers dressed like ninjas,” Gosling noted, adding, “It’s a whole thing.”
Gosling’s character Dr Ryland Grace goes into space on a mission and is left alone with no one but his rock friend, Rocky.
Rocky’s character was achieved by a team of creature effects supervisor Neil Scanlan, voice actor and puppeteer James Ortiz and more.
The Notebook actor told the outlet, “James Ortiz was meant to just be the puppeteer and we were going to figure out Rocky’s voice later. But James started doing the lines for me so that I had someone to read lines with, so I wasn’t just imagining this dialogue.”
The sci-fi movie is now out in theatres.
