Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling has built a career around a useful contradiction: he can hold the screen by barely moving, then pivot into comedy, romance or musical performance without losing that essential reserve. Born in London, Ontario, on November 12, 1980, the Canadian actor began performing for audiences as a child and entered television at 12 through The All New Mickey Mouse Club. Roles in series including Breaker High and Young Hercules followed before he shifted his attention to film. The Believer gave Gosling an early dramatic breakthrough, while The Notebook brought him mainstream attention as Noah Calhoun. Rather than settle into romantic-lead territory, he kept testing different corners of his screen persona. Half Nelson earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and Lars and the Real Girl found tenderness and hope in an eccentric premise. Drive made particularly sharp use of his economical style, turning silence and stillness into the foundations of a compelling action performance. That restraint is only part of his range. Crazy, Stupid, Love showed his comic timing, The Big Short gave him room to be fast-talking and abrasive, and La La Land paired his chemistry with Emma Stone with song, dance and melancholy. His performance earned a Golden Globe and a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In Blade Runner 2049 and First Man, he returned to quieter characters whose emotions sit just beneath the surface. Gosling’s performance as Ken in Barbie pushed his comedy into a broader, more theatrical register. He also performed “I’m Just Ken,” both in the film and live at the Academy Awards, and received another Academy Award nomination for the role. Alongside acting, his work has included producing, writing, directing and music. His directorial debut, Lost River, arrived in 2014, while the band Dead Man’s Bones showcased him as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Across those pursuits, the recurring appeal is his willingness to move between sincerity and self-awareness without treating either as the easy option.