Donald Glover Says He Almost Got 'Big Fan' Ryan Gosling to Be on 'Atlanta' : 'The Part Was So Great'

"It just didn't work out. I was so bummed," Glover said at the season 3 premiere of the hit show on Thursday

Photo: Gary Miller/WireImage; Shannon Finney/Getty

Donald Glover revealed that Ryan Gosling almost appeared on his Emmy-winning series Atlanta.

At the season 3 premiere of the FX dramedy at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles on Thursday, Glover, 38, told PEOPLE that he had high hopes the La La Land actor, 41, would join the cast.

"He said he was a big fan, but he had something else, and it just didn't work out," Glover said. "I was so bummed because the part was so great for him!"

The Solo: A Star Wars Story actor said the pair even "talked on the phone" and "were going to do it," but a conflict came up.

At Thursday's event, Glover also reminisced about shooting the last scene of the show, which will end with the show's fourth season. Both the third and fourth seasons completed filming earlier this year.

"It was really fun, everybody clapped, it was nice. But it was sad, because we all really grew up together, and none of us really knew what this was going to be," he said. "And everybody's grown up and has families [now]. It just feels very special. It was kind of sad just because endings are sad, but they also mean that you had something special."

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Back in November 2020, Glover teased his enthusiasm for both seasons 3 and 4 of Atlanta, which were considerably delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The star made a shout-out on Twitter at the time to Atlanta alum Angela Barnes Gomes, who had directed a viral voting PSA. Glover shared that he was asked to participate.

He then promoted Atlanta, comparing seasons 3 and 4 of the FX series to HBO hit The Sopranos. "While im here: 'atlanta' s3+s4 are going to be some of the best television ever made," he wrote. "Sopranos only ones who can touch us."

Glover both created and stars in the critically acclaimed series, which first premiered in 2016. He plays Earn, a college dropout who helps his cousin Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry) with his rap career.

In 2017, Glover won two Primetime Emmys for the show, for Outstanding Lead Actor as well as Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series — becoming the first Black director to win the latter award.