Ryan Gosling Bio: Life and Career

Ryan Gosling Bio: Entertainer of the Year This talented and hunky Canadian star began as a Mouseketeer, and continues to win hearts with his varied roles. Welcome to Watchmojo.com, and today we’ll be taking a look at the career of Ryan Gosling. Ryan Thomas Gosling was born November 12th, 1980 in London, Ontario. His parents raised him as a Mormon, before they divorced when he was still young. He and his sister were then brought up by their mother, and eventually she homeschooled him after he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Due to his problems at school, Gosling dreamed that entertaining was the only way he could leave his small town. He nurtured his love and talent for performing by singing with his sister at weddings, and dancing at local talent shows. At age 12, his dream came true: Gosling relocated to Florida for two years when he was selected to become a Mouseketeer on “The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.” There, he appeared alongside other unknown performers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. During shooting, he even lived with fellow Mouseketeer Justin Timberlake, and when Gosling’s mother was forced to return home, Timberlake’s mother became his legal guardian. Following this show, Gosling returned to Canada to work on several family-oriented television projects. These included “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” Goosebumps” and the series “Breaker High.” By the time he was 18-years-old, Gosling dropped out of school to move to New Zealand to star in the 1998 adventure series “Young Hercules.” After his successful stint on television, he decided to transition to film. This proved to be a struggle for Gosling after he was dropped by his agent; however, he finally landed a part in the 2000 sports picture “Remember the Titans,” and was given the lead in 2001’s controversial drama “The Believer.” Due to his convincing and acclaimed performance, that film made it to the Sundance Film Festival. Gosling was then cast in 2002’s “Murder By Numbers” as a student who thinks he can get away with killing, until he is brought down by a detective played by Sandra Bullock. In fact, Gosling briefly dated Bullock following this film. Next up, he starred as a small-town football player in “The Slaughter Rule,” and as a teen jailed for killing a disabled boy in “The United States of Leland.” Though Gosling had consistently given impressive performances, it wasn’t until he starred opposite Rachel McAdams in the film adaptation of the romantic novel “The Notebook” that he won widespread recognition. The project started out as a sleeper hit, and earned a reputation as one of the most romantic movies ever made. Interestingly, the star couple didn’t get along during the film’s production, but they eventually dated for several years. In Gosling’s next project, he portrayed a disturbed art student in the psychological thriller “Stay.” He followed that by playing a drug-addicted high school teacher who befriends a student in “Half Nelson.” This role earned him enormous critical praise, and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. In 2007, Gosling starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in the courtroom thriller “Fracture,” and fell in love with a sex doll in the comedy “Lars and the Real Girl.” His unconventional performance in that film earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Over the next three years, Gosling took a break from film. He returned fully re-energized in 2010 for a string of projects that included the romantic mystery “All Good Things” and the low-budget romantic drama “Blue Valentine.” However, 2011 was the year Gosling truly became a household name with three high-profile starring roles. He appeared alongside Steve Carell and an all-star cast in “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” played an unnamed driver in the neo-noir crime drama “Drive,” and starred opposite George Clooney in the political thriller “The Ides of March.” Since his Disney days, Ryan Gosling has become a talented and well-respected actor. In addition to that, he nurtured his love of music by founding and playing in the indie rock band Dead Man’s Bones. That’s just one more way he has earned his name as one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors.