Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor.
Gosling got his start as a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club in the early '90s before doing several other TV shows. His first major role was as one of the leads in 2004's The Notebook, which established him as a heartthrob. Over the next few years, he drew critical acclaim for his turns as the lead characters in both the offbeat comedy Lars and the Real Girl and the inner-city drama Half Nelson (the latter of which got him his first Academy Award nomination). Since then, Gosling has established himself firmly as a powerful dramatic actor, with special mention going to his performances as the nameless lead character in Drive and the similarly stoic K in Blade Runner 2049. He is also noted for his comedic chops, showcased in films such as the aforementioned Lars, Crazy, Stupid, Love (as Jacob Palmer), The Nice Guys (as Holland March), and perhaps most notably Barbie (as Beach Ken, or just Ken).
He's also become something of a Fountain of Memes over the years. These include the "Feminist Ryan Gosling" meme, where someone takes a picture of the man and adds (often pseudo-)feminist text that begins with "Hey girl"note ; the "Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal"
Vine series, where perpetually uneaten spoons of cereal slowly approach the mouths of on-screen Goslingsnote ; and the "Literally Me" sigma male memes popularized in the early 2020s by his most famously stoic characters, such as the Driver and K. (His role as Ken is a whole other entity of its own.) While he's avoided saying anything too specific about his memes, he allowed a book based on the "Feminist Ryan Gosling" meme to use his likeness, and honestly, his silence is a bit telling.
Gosling has lived with and been in a relationship with Eva Mendes since 2011, and they have two daughters.
Selected filmography:
As actor:
- The Mickey Mouse Club (1993 — 1995) as himself / various characters
- Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1995) as Jamie Leary note
- Goosebumps episode "Say Cheese and Die!" (1996) — as Greg Banks
- Flash Forward (1996) — as Scott Stuckley
- Breaker High (1997 — 1998) as Sean Hanlon
- Young Hercules (1998 — 1999) as Hercules
- Remember the Titans (2000) as Alan Bosley
- The Believer (2001) as Danny Balint
- Murder By Numbers (2002) as Richard Haywood
- The United States Of Leland (2003) as Leland Fitzgerald
- The Notebook (2004) as Noah Calhoun
- Stay (2005) as Henry Letham
- Half Nelson (2006) as Dan Dunne note
- Lars and the Real Girl (2007) as Lars Lindstrom
- Fracture (2007) as Willy Beachum
- Blue Valentine (2010) as Dean Pereira
- All Good Things (2010) as David Marks
- Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) as Jacob Palmer
- Drive (2011) as The Driver
- The Ides of March (2011) as Stephen Meyers
- The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) as Luke Glanton
- Gangster Squad (2013) as Sgt. Jerry Wooters
- Only God Forgives (2013) as Julian
- The Big Short (2015) as Jared Vennett
- The Nice Guys (2016) as P.I. Holland March
- La La Land (2016) as Sebastian Wilder note
- Blade Runner 2049 (2017) as Officer K / "Joe"
- First Man (2018) as Neil Armstrong
- The Gray Man (2022) as Court Gentry
- Barbie (2023) as Beach Ken (or just "Ken")
- The Fall Guy (2024) as Colt
As writer and director:
- Lost River (2014)
Tropes that apply to him:
- Dyeing for Your Art: He bleached his hair, lost 10 kilos and got a tan to play Ken in Barbie (2023). His hair was still mostly white-blond during the promo tour for The Gray Man due to it overlapping with production of Barbie
- Fake American: He's Canadian but most of his roles thus far have had him play Americans.
- Meme Acknowledgment:
- He knows about and enjoys the Vines of him not eating cereal. When the creator of said Vines passed away from cancer, Gosling paid tribute by filming himself finally eating a bowl.
- Gosling is also more than aware of the "Literally Me" memes surrounding his characters, and by the time his role as Ken gained popularity, he joked during a panel that the trifecta of K, the Driver, and Ken has been collected into a Neapolitan of personalities for men to emulate.
- Mr. Fanservice: Has a huge female fanbase due to him frequently playing very strikingly good-looking men with gratuitous shirtless scenes, and he's good-looking enough to even have certain men question their sexuality over him. His role in Barbie is a parody and deconstruction of this.
- Pass the Popcorn: Was famously seen smirking during the infamous La La Land/Moonlight debacle at the Oscars, which many fans were quick to notice.
- Perpetual Smiler: Usually has a small smirk in real life.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: Has a notably high-pitched scream heard in a good chunk of his movies, one that can be especially jarring to hear given his deep, smooth voice. This even becomes a Running Gag in the comedy film The Nice Guys.
- The Stoic: Although he can be as expressive as the role calls for, he's often cast as this, with his most iconic roles of this type being in Drive (2011) and Blade Runner 2049; and he's not precisely loud himself.
- Those Two Actors: With Emma Stone, they've shared the screen in three movies, always as Love Interests. Stone also put in a cameo when he hosted Saturday Night Live.
- Tranquil Fury: He's a master at getting across explosive rage with barely any changes in his facial expression and without raising his voice.
- What Could Have Been:
- He was invited to audition for the Backstreet Boys by bandmember AJ McLean, a personal friend of his. Gosling initially turned him down, as he wanted to focus on his acting career rather than joining what he thought would just be a New Kids on the Block ripoff that would
never go anywhere. He later changed his mind and called McLean to say he was interested, but it went to the answering machine and McLean never called him back. It's probably safe to say Gosling has gotten over his disappointment by now. - He was approached for the role of the Joker in Suicide Squad before Jared Leto was cast. However, he turned down the offer due to the multi-picture deal the studio was requiring.
- He had discussions with Marvel Studios for the part of Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange before the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch.
- He was originally cast as Jack Salmon in The Lovely Bones, but dropped out of the project a day before shooting began.
- He was also rumoured to be in consideration for the Beast/the Prince in the live action Beauty and the Beast.
- He was invited to audition for the Backstreet Boys by bandmember AJ McLean, a personal friend of his. Gosling initially turned him down, as he wanted to focus on his acting career rather than joining what he thought would just be a New Kids on the Block ripoff that would
