He’s perhaps best known for playing smouldering emotionally distant characters who don’t say all that much. And for that kiss in the Notebook. Oh and that scene when he took his shirt off in Crazy Stupid Love. OK we could go on.
But for all the memes circulating online with various “hey girl” messages, Ryan is actually a pretty interesting guy too.
So, as it’s his 34th birthday today, here’s everything you’d need to know if you were taking a Gosling pub quiz.
1. In 1993 he beat 17,000 aspiring actors to make it onto the Mickey Mouse Club (he was on the show with Justin Timerlake and even lived with his family). At this time young Ryan was his family’s only source of income.
2. Yep, he was a star even as a child. Check out this adorable performance with his sister Mandi.
3. He turned down a place in the Backstreet Boys. Smart move Ryan, smart move.
4. After several early films, he received critical acclaim for his performance as the Jewish neo-Nazi in The Believer (2001). It was a pretty controversial film but won the Grand Jury Prize at that year’s Sundance Film Festival.
5. He came across a fight in the street in New York once and stopped it.
6. It was the Notebook (2004) that really made him a household name though. Suddenly women were falling over themselves for the Gosling.
7. He says inspirational things sometimes.
8. He’s an accomplished jazz guitarist and plays in a band called Dead Man’s Bones.
9. He was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor for the 2006 film Half Nelson (the first Canadian to be nominated for the award since 1943).
10. He co-owns a Moroccan restaurant in Beverley Hills.
11. He has a sense of humour.
12. In 2005 he went to Chad in central Africa to make a documentary on the Darfur refugees.
13. He keeps some perspective.
14. He directed his own film – Lost River. OK, it was a bit of a flop but at least he gave it a go.
15. He seems to be remarkably self-aware.
16. When Blue Valentine was going to receive a strict NC-17 rating (the toughest one) Ryan wrote to the Motion Picture Association and accused them of sexist double standards. It was changed to R rated, the next one down.
17. He saved a woman from being hit by a car. British writer Laurie Pennie.
18. Considering he’s all Hollywood and that, he doesn’t seem to have a big ego.
19. He’s a do-gooder, involved in lots of humanitarian work with the likes of Invisible Children, SickKids Foundation and PETA. Ryan also helped clear up the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
20. He’s apparently super close with his mum Donna.
21. He’s a daredevil. He did his own stunts for A Place Beyond The Pines.
22. When did you ever see Ryan in any kind of public scandal? Never that’s when. He’s got a good (not just pretty) head on his shoulders.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article