Rosamund Pike
Originally, the role of Amy Dunne was intended for Reese Witherspoon, but the decision to cast former Bond girl Pike proved to be an inspired one, since her performance was widely considered the strongest in a movie peppered with strong performances. Pike was nominated for Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors' Guild and BAFTA Awards in the Best Leading Actress category, finally triumphing by winning the latter. Pike's early forays into acting did not suggest such lofty things were to come; whilst at college in her native England she applied to every drama school she could think of, but was rejected by all of them. Although the success of Gone Girl offered her a more varied and meaty spectrum of roles, this remains her most acclaimed.
Ben Affleck
Because of his recent tendency to appear drunk and bleary-eyed on the cover of celebrity gossip magazines, it is sometimes hard to remember that once upon a time Affleck was best known for being an incredibly gifted actor and Oscar-winning director with Academy Award-winning screenplay credits to his name. In his portrayal of Nick Dunne he reminds us of his acting credentials and also seems to have a genuine affinity for Nick, largely because of the way in which the media treat him. Affleck has stated that he really identified with him because the press formed a quick opinion about him as a person and refused to be diverted from it despite all evidence of the contrary by people who actually knew him. Affleck felt that he, too, had experienced this and consequently felt a real connection to Nick that enables him to make him a pretty likable character even when it appears that he has brutally murdered his wife and covered it up afterwards.
Gone Girl was Affleck's third most successful opening weekend in his career, behind Pearl Harbor and Daredevil.
Neil Patrick Harris
Forever known and loved as Doogie Howser, M.D., and subsequently almost beatified for his portrayal of Barney Stimson on the television series How I Met Your Mother alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Alyson Hannigan, comedy stalwart Neil Patrick Harris is surprisingly convincing in a dramatic role. He plays Desi Collings, Amy's college boyfriend, who is upper class, suave and well off. Shortly after being a part of the ensemble cast of Gone Girl, Harris went on to host the Academy Awards to great acclaim.
Tyler Perry
When you have created a mad black woman as your alter-ego and appear as her frequently on the big screen, it is difficult to expect the viewing public to entertain the idea of you as anyone else; however, known also for dramatic stage plays adapted for the small screen, Perry plays the role of Nick's attorney with aplomb. Also known for his collaboration with Oprah Winfrey on content for her OWN Network, Perry is building quite a portfolio of supporting actor roles, including Colin Powell in the Academy Award nominated movie Vice.
Kim Dickens
Boney, a detective who makes the original snap judgement that Nick's missing wife has actually been murdered by his own sociopathic hands, is not a stretch for the veteran television actress Dickens who counts many small screen detective shows in her body of work. In fact she is far better known as a television actress, appearing as a regular on the Kevin Spacey-driven House of Cards, and she also starred in AMC's "Fear The Living Dead". After Gone Girl Dickens went on to another acclaimed supporting role, this time in the movie adaptation of Ransome Riggs' best-selling horror fantasy novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
Emily Ratajkowski
Former model and citizen of the world Ratajkowski had an unusual path into dramatic roles in movie thrillers - her break-out moment came after appearing topless on a Robin Thicke music video that became a worldwide hit. She has also been one of "Sports Illustrated" magazine's most popular swimsuit issue cover stars. Gone Girl was her movie debut
Sela Ward
Primetime Emmy Award-winner Ward is best known for her television work so it is fitting that the role she plays in this movie is that of a popular television anchorwoman. A regular on the popular medical drama House, Ward also won Emmy Awards for her roles in Sisters, in which she appeared from 1991-1996, and in Once and Again which she also worked on for a five-year period of time. In her later career Ward appeared on short lived New York spinoff of the C.S.I. franchise and went on to play Dana Mosier in CBS's F.B.I.
