Famous for doing starring roles in romantic films like The Notebook, Blue Valentine, and Crazy, Stupid, Love, Ryan Gosling is a London-born Canadian actor, producer, director, philanthropist, and businessman. For portraying Dan Dunne, a troubled history teacher in the drama film Half Nelson, Gosling received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He has also starred in the television shows Breaker High from 1997-98, and the spin-off show Young Hercules from 1998-99, where he played the titular character.
He is an ardent humanitarian and supports organizations like PETA, Invisible Children, and the Enough Project. Gosling has traveled across the globe to spread awareness about AIDS and passionately works toward organizing numerous poverty relief programs.
Early Life
Born in London in a middle-class family, Gosling’s father Thomas Ray Gosling was a traveling salesman and his mother Donna, a high-school teacher. When he was just 13, his parents separated and Gosling along with his elder sister Mandi shifted in with their mother. At a very young age, Gosling was diagnosed with ADHD- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was unable to concentrate in school. His mother then homeschooled him for one year and it’s during this period that he discovered his love for the performing arts. Gosling along with his sister would sing at weddings and perform under a local ballet company. Not interested in studying further, he dropped out of high school to pursue a career in the world of cinema.
Personal Life
Gosling for a brief period of one year dated his Murder by Number co-star Sandra Bullock. Despite an age difference of 16 years, sparks flew between the two on the sets of the film. The romance, however, was short-lived and the couple parted ways in 2003. From 2005-07, Gosling was in a relationship with Rachel McAdams, who he starred opposite in The Notebook. They broke up only to reunite briefly in 2008.
About being in a relationship with Bullock and McAdams, Gosling told the UK daily, "I had two of the greatest girlfriends of all time.”
In 2011, he started dating Eva Mendes, an American actress, and model, who starred alongside him in The Place Beyond the Pines. Their first daughter was born in 2014 and the second one in 2016, which is also the year in which they got married.
Movie Career
As an Actor
Ryan Gosling’s first silver screen appearance was in the Denzel Washington starrer Remember the Titans, where Gosling had a small role to portray. His first film as the lead, however, was Henry Bean’s drama film The Believer. Starring Gosling as the Jew, who became a neo-nazi, the film garnered immense critical acclaim from the critics. The movie, at the Sundance Film Festival, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize.
After delivering an electrifying performance in The Believer, Gosling failed to generate the same response in his next string of films like Murder by Numbers (2002), The Slaughter Rule (2002), and The United States of Leland (2003). In 2004, he struck gold with Nick Cassavetes’s romantic drama The Notebook, based on Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel of the same name. Starring Rachel McAdams opposite Ryan Gosling, the film bagged eight Teen Choice Awards, of which the actor took home six of them across various categories.
He continued the successful run with the 2006 film Half Nelson, in which he essayed the character of a troubled history teacher, Dan Dunne. For his performance, Gosling received his first Oscar nomination and went on to win the Best Actor Award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and Stockholm International Film Festival. In 2007, he starred alongside Anthony Hopkins in thriller film Fracture, and opposite Emily Mortimer in the rom-com Lars and the Real Girl, for which Gosling garnered a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy".
In 2010, Ryan Gosling starred in another super-hit romantic drama Blue Valentine. The indie movie, in which he was cast opposite Michelle Williams, was screened at the 26th Sundance Film Festival and got a fairly positive response from the critics.
The year 2011 proved to be a very fruitful year for the talented actor as he gave three back to back hits, in three different genres. First was the romantic comedy film Crazy, Stupid, Love, which was a multi starrer, featuring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon. The movie opened to good reviews, with Roger Ebert giving it 3 out of 4 stars and stated that it "is a sweet romantic comedy about good-hearted people". His second release in 2011 as an unnamed driver in the crime film Drive. The movie was a huge hit critically and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2011. His last movie of the year was George Clooney’s political drama The Ideas of March. Starring George Clooney himself along with Ryan Gosling, the movie was praised widely amongst the critics and audiences.
Making a conscious decision of doing roles of all kinds, Gosling appeared alongside Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes in another crime drama, in 2012. For his portrayal of Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stuntman, Gosling received a lot of appreciation. He then starred in films like Gangster Squad (2013), Only God Forgives (2013), and The Big Short (2015). His 2016 releases include the action comedy film The Nice Guys, and the romantic musical La La Land. Directed by Damien Chazelle, La La Land along with Gosling stars Emma Stone, John Legend and Rosemarie DeWitt in the lead roles. His 2017 projects include the drama Weightless and the neo-noir science fiction Blade Runner 2049.
As a Director
Ryan Gosling ventured into direction with the fantasy neo-noir film Lost River. The movie which he also wrote and produced, features Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith, Ben Mendelsohn, Barbara Steele, and Eva Mendes in important roles.
As a Producer
Gosling as served as an executive producer for his movies like Blue Valentine, Only God Forgives, and White Shadow. He also produced Lost River.
Television Career
As a child, Gosling was a part of the show Mickey Mouse Club, where he performed with future stars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera. He then gained attention after appearing in the teen comedy drama Breaker High. But his defining TV moment came teen series Young Hercules, where he essayed the titular role.