Bike rides, diners, and face tattoos are challenges faced by Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes in their latest film, The Place Beyond the Pines. Hypable had the opportunity to speak with the stars and director of the crime-thriller at the press junket at The Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

Set in Upstate New York, Pines stars Gosling, who plays a rough-around-the-edges carnival biker. Gosling impregnates Mendes’ character, leading him on a path of redemption in the name of his kin. Pines is directed by Sundance award winner Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine).

Although it would make the film more authentic, director Cianfrance opted to not have Gosling learn how to ride in a motorcycle derby. The director claimed that it would have taken two years to properly learn how to do so, and proposed that Gosling had much more productive things to do to prepare for the film.

Gosling admitted that he had trouble looking at himself in the mirror during the shooting of Pines. His overtly masculine features include face and body tattoos, jacked-up muscles, and a cigarette constantly hanging off his lip.

Fortunately, these extreme appearances do wonders for his portrayal of a carnie biker with a chip on his shoulder. Gosling admitted, “I had a shame that I couldn’t have acted.” The pained look in Gosling’s eyes in Pines as he gazes at his bastard son demonstrates the Notebook actor’s visible drive and inspiration for this film.

His co-star and real life girlfriend Mendes took a similar approach to encaptivating her impoverished character. She spent four days learning how to work in the diner that the film shot in, teaching her the ins and the outs of the waitress trade.

The work wasn’t easy, and neither were her customers, who Mendes said often didn’t recognize her. “They were hungry and wanted their food,” stated Mendes with a melancholy smile.

Director Cianfrance had a large influence in guiding his stars down the right path for their characters. “I look for two things when shooting a film,” Cianfrance stated. “One is for my actors to surprise me, and another is for them to fail.”

Mendes had trouble doing a particular diner scene, and was so frustrated that at one point, she put her head in a basket of french fries. “I lifted my head up, and that obviously wasn’t scripted, because why would anyone do that? And then Derek comes over and he was like ‘that was ridiculous!’ And I’m like, ‘I know.’ And then he goes ‘I loved it! Don’t do it again, but I loved it!'”

The Place Beyond the Pines has a limited release in the U.S. on March 29 and a varying worldwide release date. Keep an eye on Hypable for our upcoming advanced review.

Check out the posters of Mendes, Gosling, and costar Bradley Cooper for The Place Beyond the Pines.

Featured image source: IMDB.com
Image and video sources: IMDB (Mendes), ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ YouTube Channel (trailer)