Ryan Gosling
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| Ryan Gosling | |
 Ryan Gosling |
|
| Birth name | Ryan Thomas Gosling |
| Born | November 12, 1980 (age 26) London, Ontario |
| Notable roles | Dan Dunne in Half Nelson Leland P. Fitzgerald in United States of Leland Noah Calhoun in The Notebook Hercules in Young Hercules |
| Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Nominated for Best Actor: 2006 Half Nelson |
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Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is an Academy Award-nominated Canadian actor from London, Ontario. He is best known for his roles in The Notebook (2004) and Half Nelson (2006).
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Gosling was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario to parents Thomas and Donna Gosling, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often referred to as Mormons. Gosling has said that his parents were "more Mormon than I was" and that his mother was a self-admitted "religious zealot", with the family's religion being a "part of everything" they did.[1] Gosling now considers himself "religious but nondenominational".[2] He was raised in the Ontario cities of Burlington and Cornwall. Gosling attended Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School for most of his high school education. Gosling's father and uncle worked at Domtar, the local paper mill in Cornwall, Ontario.[1]
Gosling received his start in show business singing with his older sister, Mandi, at local talent shows. He credits his mother for turning him around from a troubled youth. She quit her job to home school him when Gosling got into too many fights at school. As a child, he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and treated with Ritalin. He found an outlet for his energy in the Mickey Mouse Club season six and seven. Gosling was selected from a pool of thousands to join the New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 alongside the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell, JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, with whom he lived while working on the series. He apparently caused an uproar among the mothers of young Mouseketeers when it was discovered that Britney and Christina had asked Gosling about sex. Gosling relayed to the future pop stars what he had heard about various sexual positions. As a consequence, Gosling humorously felt somewhat responsible for their current public sexual personae.[3]
[edit] Career
Gosling has had no formal training as an actor, but has been praised for his intense and heartfelt performances. He became well known after his roles in the television series Young Hercules and Breaker High. Ryan's fame spread to the United States after he starred in such films as; The Slaughter Rule, Murder by Numbers, Remember the Titans, The United States of Leland, The Notebook, and The Believer (which was the 2001 Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival).
In 2004, he was named one of People magazine's Fifty Hottest Bachelors, and the Show West Male Star of Tomorrow..
In March 2007, Ryan won the best actor category at the Spirit Awards (formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards). In addition, Gosling won best actor at the 2006 Stockholm Film Festival. He has received Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Broadcast Film Critics Association award nominations as best actor for his role as Dan Dunne, a drug-addicted junior high school history teacher in Half Nelson.
Gosling is committed to any role he may play. He always takes it to the next level by often doing research before anything else. Ryan shadowed a history teacher before portraying his role as Dan Dunne in the hit "Half Nelson".
[edit] Other activities
With two of his friends, Gosling has opened a Moroccan restaurant called Tagine in Beverly Hills, California. He is also involved with the ONE Campaign, which works to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty.
Gosling is an accomplished jazz guitarist and singer, and has performed at The Cat Club on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. He was also a backing singer on Canadian band soulDecision's 2000 album, No One Does it Better. Gosling picked up his love of music from his father who plays the piano. He has mentioned that he plays the guitar as hobby on a frequent basis.
Gosling is an animal-rights activist, and wrote a letter to Kentucky Fried Chicken on behalf of PETA, urging the company to improve its treatment of animals.[4] A celebrity with a social conscience, Gosling has traveled to Darfur and Katrina-devastated areas to assist in relief efforts.
[edit] Personal life
Gosling dated co-star Sandra Bullock while shooting the film Murder by Numbers. After their parting, Gosling began a relationship with The Notebook co-star, fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams.[1]
He and McAdams re-enacted their smouldering kiss on stage at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards where they won the Best Kiss award for their passionate rain-soaked kiss. Much to the delight of The Notebook fans, the couple nicknamed "McGosling" and "McRyan" have been photographed grocery shopping and walking their dogs together. The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes said he was surprised to see the two dating following their on-set arguing.[1] Gosling has several homemade tattoos.
When Gosling first came to live in Los Angeles in 1997, he was given a place to stay at the West Hollywood apartment of Director Ron Oliver (Goosebumps & Breaker High). One of Ryan's first sights to see in Los Angeles, was the Griffith Observatory.
He divides his time between Toronto, Ontario and Los Angeles, California.[5]
[edit] Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Goosebumps | Greg Banks | |
| 1997 | Breaker High | Sean Hanlon | |
| 1998 | Young Hercules | Hercules | |
| 2000 | Remember the Titans | Alan Bosley | |
| 2001 | The Believer | Danny Balint | |
| 2002 | The Slaughter Rule | Roy Chutney | |
| Murder by Numbers | Richard Haywood | ||
| 2003 | The United States of Leland | Leland P. Fitzgerald | |
| 2004 | The Notebook | Noah Calhoun | |
| 2005 | Stay | Henry Letham | |
| 2006 | Half Nelson | Dan Dunne | |
| 2007 | Lars and the Real Girl | Lars | |
| Fracture | Willy Beachum | ||
| The Other Side | Marston the 2nd | ||
| 2008 | The Good Heart | Lucas |
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 2007 - Best Actor in a Leading Role, Half Nelson (Nominated)
- 2007 - Best Male Lead, Half Nelson (Won)
- 2002 - Best Male Lead, The Believer (Nominated)
- 2005 - Best Kiss, The Notebook shared with Rachel McAdams (Won)
- 2007 - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Half Nelson (Nominated)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d Wood, Gaby. "'I live on Skid Row. You can't filter out reality there'", Guardian Unlimited, 2007-02-18. Retrieved on February 18, 2007.
- ^ Gosling - [1] "Raised Mormon in Cornwall, Ontario, Gosling (who now calls himself 'religious but nondenominational')..."
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,252199_1|29619||0_0_,00.html
- ^ http://www.kfccruelty.com/gosling.asp
- ^ http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,2015640,00.html
- Guy Dixon and Gayle Macdonald. "Whoa Canada, Oscar gives nod to the north", The Globe and Mail, 24 January 2007. Retreived 24 January 2007.
- Nashawaty, Chris. "The Mouseketeer that roared", Entertainment Weekly, May 5, 2002, retrieved October 27, 2006.
