Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell have worked together more than once in their career, but it was during their filming of The Big Short that The Office star said something that haunted Gosling for years. The Barbie actor spoke out about this during his appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers to promote his new film, Project Hail Mary.

Ryan Gosling talks about trying on wigs for The Big Short and Steve Carell’s reaction

Ryan Gosling is soon set to star in sci-fi drama Project Hail Mary. In it, the actor plays a school teacher who awakens from a 13-year coma aboard a spaceship. When Gosling’s character wakes up, he sports long hair and a beard.

“Oh my god,” Gosling said when this topic came up on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “I call him the space caveman… you know, I don’t do this a lot. I have a little bit of trauma because I went for it a bit on this film, The Big Short.”

Gosling went on to give an interesting anecdote about his acclaimed 2015 film, where he shared the screen with Steve Carell.

In The Big Short, Gosling played a banker embroiled in the 2000s housing bubble. To perfect his look for the role, Gosling decided to change his hair from dirty blonde to brunette. So, he decided to try on a wig, but it gave him trauma for a lifetime.

The actor recalled, “And I stepped out in my wig and costume, and I ran into Steve Carell, who was the first person I saw,” Gosling told Meyers, “He just stared at me and was like, ‘Never do this again.’”

He did not do it till Project Hail Mary. “I never spoke to him again,” Gosling added jokingly.

Gosling first spoke about this trauma back in 2015. It was right after the film was completed.

Project Hail Mary premieres on March 20, 2026, in the United States.