Ryan Gosling was the only candidate for the role of Noah in director Nick Cassavetes' eyes. Before the film started, Ryan Gosling lived in Charleston, where he was filming, for two months to play Noah, and made the kitchen table in the film himself. Gina Rowlands, who plays elderly Allie in the film, is director Nick Cassavetes' mother. Because James Garner, who plays the elderly Noah, has brown eyes, Ryan Gosling, who has blue eyes, had to wear brown contact lenses. Britney Spears and Ashley Judd both had hopes of playing Allie. Reese Witherspoon, who was originally scheduled to star in the film, later withdrew from filming.
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