Gosling plays Luke, a stunt bike driver-turned-bank robber, and one of the biggest action scenes in the film is a continuous take that ends with Luke zooming around a cage on his bike. Gosling said director Derek Cianfrance had some interesting inspiration for the sequence and the rest of the film.
Ryan Gosling Is 'Proud' To Be Part Of 'The Place Beyond The Pines'
"It was a real challenge for Derek, you know, multiple timeframes, so many more actors tackling action in a unique way," he said. "A big reference for him was 'COPS,' and so everything, all the action had to play out in one take. Just took a lot of planning."
Cianfrance once directed Gosling in another ambitious, time-spanning film, 2010's "Blue Valentine," which took a look at the long, slow undoing of a once-perfect relationship.
With their filming history, the director and actor became friends, Gosling said, adding praise for his movie-making pal.
"['The Place Beyond The Pines'] was just a very ambitious film on his part, and I was just proud to be his friend and to be a part of it," Gosling added.
The film hits theaters this weekend.
Check out everything we've got on "The Place Beyond the Pines."