Why does Ryan Gosling want scene change in La La Land?

When "La La Land" debuted in 2016, it was both a critical and commercial success, earning a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations. However, its leading man, Ryan Gosling, now expresses a desire for a do-over.

In a recent video interview with WSJ Magazine, the star of "The Fall Guy" and "Barbie" confesses that there's one aspect of his Oscar-nominated performance that he regrets.

Gosling reflects on a particular scene where he and Emma Stone are dancing. "There's a moment that haunts me where we're dancing, Emma and I," he recalls. "I didn't know this would become the poster for the movie."

He explains, "We were supposed to have our hands up, and I thought it'd be cool to put my hand like that," Gosling says, demonstrating a flat hand instead of the intended skyward gesture.

"Even though everyone told me it wasn't cool, I was sure that [a flat hand] was cooler than [pointing up]. Now when I look at it and I have to see it all the time, you know what would have been cooler than this? That."

Gosling feels that this decision, which became iconic as the movie poster, disrupted the scene's energy. "It just killed the energy that way," he laments. "It was sort of like all leading to what? It's just a lazy… I call it 'La La Hand.'"

When informed of dancers' term for a similar awkward gesture, "hamburger hands," Gosling admits his ignorance, despite his prior dance experience.

"I thought it would help in La La Land," he says. "Then, of course, Hamburger Hands Gosling over here… It didn't help me at all in the end."

In the accompanying WSJ Magazine article, Gosling discusses "La La Land" further, revealing that he took on the role with his children and long-time partner Eva Mendes in mind.

"I don't really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place," he explains. "This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us. The decisions I make, I make them with Eva and we make them with our family in mind first."