Establishing a distinguished career in
the famed yet competitive Hollywood film industry is no ordinary feat, and for Ryan Gosling,
the road to stardom has been anything but traditional. At 31 years old, and in
the prime of his career, he continues to break down barriers in the film
industry.
With reportedly no formal
training in the acting field, Gosling has starred in critically acclaimed films ranging from his dark and
offbeat roles in Half
Nelson and
Lars and the Real
Girl to romantic and
endearing characters in The Notebook and Blue Valentine. His acting range has catapulted his career from indie film star to mainstream success.
Continuing to work in full force, he has three movies set for release later this year and an additional three
films to be released in 2012 and 2013. The impressive lineup adds to the Oscar nominee’s esteemed resumé,
making him a force to be reckoned with in the film industry. But it doesn’t stop there. Gosling is also
making headway in the music scene. With his band, Dead Man’s Bones, slated to release its sophomore album
later this year, the actor-turned musician continues to remain actively involved in the movie and music
industries.
Gosling has travelled worldwide
for his work on and off the big screen. From his Canadian roots and living in New Zealand, to his Moroccan
connections and his social activism in Africa, his various endeavours have made him a Canadian success story,
with his rise to fame continuing to extend well beyond the country’s borders.
From Hollywood North to
Hollywood
Growing up in the small
town of Cornwall, Ont., Gosling dreamt of becoming a movie star. As a teenager, he appeared on several
Canadian television shows, including his starring role in 1997 in Breaker High, where he played Sean, a socially awkward high
school class clown. At the age of 17, he moved to New Zealand when he was offered the starring role in the TV
series Young
Hercules.
Living in New Zealand was
an eye-opening experience for Gosling, which gave the actor more appreciation for the opportunities he has
been given in the U.S.
“It’s nice to be around people
that have a sense of the world around them that are, in general, more conscious and conscientious. It was
important for me to get an outside look at America,” he said, according to imdb.com. “Even though I grew up
in Canada — it’s an incredible country and I love it, but it’s so close. It’s like being too close to a Monet
or something. You have to move back. Going to New Zealand helped me to get a read on this place that the
whole world was obsessed with.”
Gosling landed his first film
role in Remember the
Titans in 2000,
which was a launch pad for several film roles that followed. However, it was the 2004 romantic drama
The Notebook
that officially put
him on the map. In the movie adaptation of the New York Times best-seller by Nicholas Sparks, Gosling
co-starred with Canadian actress Rachel McAdams in the 1940s-set love story about a young couple battling the
odds during World War II. The movie became a blockbuster success, earning him a strong fan base, especially
among females.
Despite the success of
The
Notebook, Gosling
soon decided to venture away from the romance fi lm genre. Whether it was his love of acting, or a fear of
being typecast, it was a move that would ignite his career in ways that no one, including Gosling, could have
imagined.
Claim to Fame
Showcasing his acting range, he
took on the lead role in the 2006 movie Half Nelson, a gripping tale about a drug-addicted high school teacher. His raw performance earned
the actor an Oscar nomination for Best Actor at the 2007 Academy Awards, the first nomination in more than 60
years for a Canadian-born performer.
His role in
Half Nelson
was not Gosling’s
first time getting in touch with his darker side. He has also starred in several crime drama films including
The
Believer,
Murder by Numbers
and
Fracture.
“It’s nothing to do with the
dark side or being attracted to that or anything. It’s more like, a lot of Hollywood’s idea of reality
doesn’t really have anything to do with my reality,” he said in an interview with ABC News’
Nightline
in
2007.
From his ongoing recognition in
the film industry, Gosling’s reality was quickly metamorphosing into that of a fantasy.
Since his Academy Award
nomination, Gosling has gone on to star in films that have made him an international success. In 2007, he
took on the controversial lead role in Lars and the Real Girl, which explores the fictional life of Lars Lindstrom, an eccentric man with a
fear of intimacy who takes on a less-than-conventional companion. The indie film was critically acclaimed,
and earned Gosling his first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor.
“I just wanted to have more
control over my life. And I thought the entertainment business, being an actor, seemed like the answer. It
seemed like you make lots of money and nobody tells you what to do,” he said in an interview with
GQ Magazine
in
2007.
In 2010, after a nearly
three-year hiatus, Gosling returned to the big screen in a momentous way. After his success with
The
Notebook, he went on
to star in another romantic tale, but of a different sort. Blue Valentine featured him and Michelle Williams in an indie
documentary-style fi lm about the demise of a couple’s marriage. The film received rave reviews for Gosling’s
performance, earning him his second Best Actor Golden Globe Award nomination.
“I think you have to choose
films where the material is a lot more important than you are,” he said in an interview with
The Globe and Mail
last September. “If
you think your performance is going to save the film, you’re setting yourself up for a
fall.”
It is no wonder that
GQ Magazine
named Gosling as
“Contender of the Year” in 2010, as he continues to make his move to top the “A-list” of actors and actresses
in Hollywood.
Full Speed
Ahead
Gosling has numerous
projects he is working on, keeping him busy both on and off the screen.
He is set to make his romantic
comedy debut this July in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Playing the role of a professional bachelor whose dating advice for a friend goes
awry, Gosling co-stars with Steve Carell, as well as Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Kevin Bacon and Marisa
Tomei. Returning to the dramatic side of the film industry in Drive, Gosling plays a Hollywood stunt driver who
moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. The film, which is slated for its official release in
September, was showcased at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it received rave
reviews.
In The Ides of March, he will star alongside George Clooney, who
is also directing the film. Gosling plays the press spokesman of Governor Morris (played by Clooney). The
film, which is set for release in October, again co-stars Tomei, along with Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood
and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Gosling has also signed on to star in the remake of the classic sci-fi thriller
Logan’s
Run. Rounding out
his schedule of upcoming projects is The Gangster Squad, as well as The Place Beyond the Pines, a crime and family drama that will reunite the actor with director Derek Cianfrance,
whom he worked with on Blue Valentine.
“All my characters are me,” said
Gosling, according to imdb.com. “I hear about actors who become the role and I think, ‘I wonder what that
feels like,’ because for me, they’re all me. I relate to these characters because aspects of their
personality are like me. And I just turn up the parts of myself that are them and turn down the parts that
aren’t.”
Extracurricular
Endeavours
In addition to acting,
Gosling is involved in many different endeavours. Although he has played a musician onscreen in
Blue
Valentine, he is
also a rock star in his own right. Gosling and his friend Zach Shields formed the band Dead Man’s Bones in
2008. Featuring Gosling on vocals, guitar and bass guitar, their music is a distinct mix of indie folk rock.
They have a new album (which is currently untitled) set for release later this year.
Gosling is also known for his
work with social activism groups. In 2007, he went to Uganda to make a documentary about the tragedy of
Ugandan child soldiers. The following year, he was involved in raising awareness about the genocide in
Darfur.
“What’s so powerful about the
time that we’re living in is that it’s really the obstacles are in your own head,” he said in a 2008 video
for the Enough Project. “There is so much power and it just requires you to think as an individual, about
what you think that you can do. Just because you aren’t an expert on something doesn’t mean you can’t have an
original idea.”
He continues to be actively
involved in the awareness of crimes against humanity. Last November, he visited the Congo in an effort to
raise awareness about workers’ conditions in the production of minerals used in North American technology
products. His visit was to promote the use of conflict-free materials and to encourage North Americans to
help the cause.
When Gosling returns home, he
divides his time between Toronto and Los Angeles, leading a bicoastal lifestyle.
He co-owns
Tagine, a Moroccan restaurant in Beverly Hills,
Calif., where he, along with his friends and business partners, chef Ben Benameur and Chris Angulo, provide
guests with fine-dining Moroccan cuisine.
Gosling continues to
remain humble in this business endeavour, lending a hand in the restaurant’s kitchen, and has even waited
tables in the dining room.
“To me, to see him with
other people as well, he has a big influence over a lot of people’s lives, just with the way he is,” said
Benameur in an interview with
Lifestyler. “He’s brilliant in anything he does — he’s very
special.”
From his life as an actor
and musician to activist and restaurateur, Gosling has no plans of slowing down. His various roles have
demonstrated his ability to be a “jack of all trades.” His road to stardom proves that he is no overnight
success; his hard work has truly paid off in more ways than one, as he leads Hollywood’s newest generation of
young actors. •
Splash Photo
Courtesy: Alliance Films
Gallery Photo
1: Alliance Films
Gallery Photo 2:
Alliance Films
Gallery Photo 3:
Warner Bros. Entertainment
Gallery Photo
4: Warner Bros. Entertainment
