Ryan Gosling has revealed that his two daughters played an unexpected but charming role in the making of his new film Project Hail Mary, stepping in to voice his alien co-star during filming so he had someone real to react to.
The actor, 45, told PEOPLE that shooting scenes alongside the film’s CGI alien character Rocky could be challenging, particularly when his scene partner wasn’t physically present.
His solution? Daughters Esmeralda Amada, 11, and Amada Lee, 9, would come onto set and speak Rocky’s lines into an earpiece while Gosling performed.
“Sometimes when I was working and I needed to sort of switch things up or whatever, my kids would come in and I had an earpiece in my ear and they would talk for Rocky, so I could talk to them as Rocky,” he explained.
The result, he says, is visible in the finished film.
“There’s some moments in the movie where I’m laughing or I’m just so charmed by him, which is like, it’s actually my kids talking to me and helping me out.”
In the final cut, Rocky is voiced by James Ortiz.
The girls’ involvement didn’t stop there.
They have also watched multiple cuts of the film and, by Gosling’s account, have not held back on their feedback.
He also recalled a moment from pre-production that stuck with him.
“When I was trying on stuff for the character and my daughter came by, and she was like, ‘You look smart in glasses,'” he said with a laugh. “And I was like, ‘I need to look smart in this, so I will thank you for that.'”
Speaking to Access Hollywood in February, Gosling was equally candid about why he took on the project in the first place.
“My kids have seen multiple cuts. They give me multiple notes. They’re basically the only critics I care about, and they are very critical and very honest,” he said.
“I made this for them essentially. As a family, I’d like a movie like this that I’d like to see. I just feel really honoured that I got to make one.”
Gosling shares both daughters with his longtime partner Eva Mendes.
Project Hail Mary follows a science teacher launched into space on a mission to save humanity, who discovers mid-journey that he is not alone, and forms an unlikely bond with the alien he encounters there.
