'Ryan is the most infuriating guy to fight with because he's so sharp,' says the director Derek Cianfrance, who locked Gosling and the actress Michelle Williams in a room for eight hours at a stretch during the shooting of Blue Valentine, so their fights would have the right authenticity. 'We did everything a couple does except sleep together,' Williams says. She credits Gosling with persuading her to take on the role of Marilyn Monroe in the forthcoming film My Week with Marilyn. 'He asked what I was doing and I said, God help me, I think I'm going to play Marilyn Monroe. And he was more excited than I was. He's an unsettlingly perceptive person, Ryan. Sometimes you don't want to be too close to him because he sees so much it's uncomfortable. He said to me, "It's so cool, the greatest sex symbol of all time being played by you, who has never wanted to trade on any kind of sex appeal or beauty whatsoever. That's why you should do it." It warmed my heart. I thought, you really see me. You really notice what I'm trying to do.'