Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in
The Notebook, Half Nelson, and Lars and the Real Girl.
Gosling has had no formal training as an actor. His first acting experience was in the 1990s revival of
The Mickey Mouse Club, for which he auditioned on a whim at the age of thirteen. As a result, he appeared in the show alongside
Britney Spears, Keri Russell, Nikki DeLoach, Tony Lucca, Lindsey Alley,
Christina Aguilera, JC Chasez and
Justin Timberlake in the show's sixth and seventh seasons. Later he appeared in other television series including Flash Forward, Young Hercules, and Ron Oliver's Goosebumps and Breaker High. His fame spread to the United States after he starred in the 2001 controversial drama The Believer, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. This success led to future films including Remember the Titans, The Slaughter Rule, and
Murder by Numbers. Because of his turn as the romantic lead in the 2004 film The Notebook, Gosling was named one of People magazine's Fifty Hottest Bachelors and the Show West Male Star of Tomorrow.
In preparation for his role as Dan Dunne, a drug-addicted, junior high school history teacher in the 2006 film Half Nelson, Gosling moved to Brooklyn, shadowed a middle school teacher, and studied the Civil Rights Movement (a subject with which his character is fascinated). In March 2007, Gosling won the Best Actor category at the Spirit Awards (formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards) for his role in the movie. For the same role he was nominated for an
Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Broadcast Film Critics Association award as best actor. He also became the first Mickey Mouse Club member to be nominated for an Oscar.
Recently, Gosling has starred in the film Fracture alongside Anthony Hopkins. He was to begin filming for The Lovely Bones in October 2007, but has since been replaced by Mark Wahlberg. It was subsequently reported that director Peter Jackson fired him because he was "too demanding". A few days later, however, Gosling denied these claims, explaining that his young age was behind the decision to replace him in the film. He said, "The age of the character versus my real age was always a concern of mine. Peter and I tried to make it work and ultimately it just didn't. I think the film is much better off with Mark Wahlberg in that role. Peter Jackson is an incredible filmmaker and I'm here to tell you that he has things up his sleeve that are going to blow people's minds. I'm going to be the first person in line to buy tickets." In 2007, Gosling was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Gosling made a surprise cameo appearance onstage at the Sacred Fools Theatre in Hollywood in the serialized play "Darque Magick" from writer/director Jenelle Riley. For months, the lead character in "Darque Magick" had been making references to his obsession with Gosling, finally culminating in the actor appearing in a videotaped plea for the character to return his dog.
On December 13, 2007, Gosling was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Lars and the Real Girl. A week later, he was subsequently nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. He had also received a Broadcast Film Critics Association nomination and won a Satellite Award for this performance as well. In February 2008, he was presented with the inaugural Independent Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. In her introduction, presenter Jenelle Riley called him "the most consistent and compelling actor working today."
On January 12th, 2008, Courtney Love stated that Ryan Gosling would portray her former husband, Kurt Cobain, in his upcoming bio film. In January 2008, it was announced that Gosling would be appearing in a reboot of the Jack Ryan franchise, By Any Means Necessary.
On December 25, 2008 Gosling's band Dead Man's Bones released a music video and free download for their song “In The Room Where You Sleep.”
