Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, & Christian Bale Cover 'THR'

Ryan Gosling teams up with The Big Short co-stars Steve Carell and Christian Bale for the latest cover of THR.

Here’s what the actors had to say about meeting their real-life counterparts:

Ryan: “The character I play is loosely based on a real person [Greg Lippmann], but he’s also the narrator of the film and the tour guide through this world. It was a challenge because I’m trying to play him but at the same time have one foot outside of the movie and be almost like a talk show host or something. I wouldn’t want someone to play me, unless it was Steve.”

Steve: “I met with [Steve Eisman]. We had breakfast. I read up on him. He said he had better hair. That was his one comment. He was very, very proud of his hair. He said, ‘My wife married me because of my hair.’”

Christian: “Michael [Burry] came to visit the set a number of times. And he’s a fascinating individual. We just talked for, it was like eight or nine hours straight. I became very fond of him. I love playing real characters because you create a mannerism, and the director might question that, but you’ve got the evidence. You can just call him over and chat with him for a little bit and go, ‘See, right?’”

For more on Ryan, Steve, and Christian, visit HollywoodReporter.com.