Do you simp for Ryan Gosling? Swoon over these movies now

Ryan Gosling is one of Hollywood’s true leading men. He is famous for playing dark, brooding heroes. However, he has effortlessly expanded his repertoire into comedy, science fiction, and even musicals. His movies are eagerly anticipated as audiences can’t get enough of the hunky leading man.

Ryan Gosling began his career at age twelve as a member of the Disney Channel’s The Mickey Mouse Club. He returned to Canada after the show ended and continued to appear in television series. Gosling appeared in an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? He also starred as the titular character in Young Hercules.

In 1999, at age nineteen, Gosling decided to shift his focus from television to movies. Though his big break wouldn’t come for a few years, Ryan Gosling would go on to impress in some smaller roles in independent films.

The Notebook (2004)

The Notebook is the film that thrust Ryan Gosling into the mainstream. Audiences’ hearts melted over the romance between Gosling and fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams. Ryan Gosling plays Noah Calhoun, a poor worker at a lumber mill, who falls for the wealthy Allison Hamilton. The Notebook follows the two would-be lovers as war & family threaten to separate them.

The movie was a massive success at the box office, grossing $115.6 million worldwide. The Notebook is one of the highest grossing romantic movies of all time. While moviegoers enjoyed it, critics were largely split on the movie. Some believed it was another saccharine “chick flick” while others praised Gosling & McAdam’s sizzling onscreen chemistry & star-making performances.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Lars and the Real Girl is an offbeat comedy starring Ryan Gosling as an introvert who develops a relationship with an anatomically correct sex doll named Bianca. Though the film wasn’t a commercial success, it was well liked by critics and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Despite the role not being typical for a budding Hollywood heartthrob, Gosling makes a lot of sense as Lars. He brings a very real kindness that a lesser actor would have struggled to bring out. It’s the same sweetness that makes Ryan Gosling work in a film like The Notebook at work in Lars and the Real Girl.

Drive (2011)

Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive was yet another sea change in Gosling’s career. Though he had played darker & more serious roles in the past, his most successful movies were romances or comedies. Drive is a neon-tinged neo-noir with thrilling action sequences and bone-shattering graphic violence. Ryan Gosling is an unnamed mechanic & getaway driver who’s forced to fend for himself after a job goes horribly wrong.

Drive has a tremendous cast including Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Issac, Christina Hendricks, and Albert Brooks. It’s synthesizer heavy, europop inspired score is as iconic as the film itself.

Fans of Drive may be interested in checking out Walter Hill’s 1978 film The Driver. Refn has stated that The Driver was a major influence on him. Both films feature unnamed quiet protagonists who are highly skilled getaway drivers as well as brilliant chase scenes.

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

The Place Beyond the Pines is an ambitious neo-noir film about a criminal motorcyclist named Luke, played by Gosling, and his interactions with a cop named Avery, played by Bradley Cooper. Like The Notebook, Pines follows the lead characters and their families through time. However, the similarities end there, as The Place Beyond the Pines is a pitch black crime story about the sins of the past.

Gosling had worked with director Derek Cianfrance on the 2010 film Blue Valentine and had shared ideas that would eventually take shape in The Place Beyond the Pines. The role of Luke was written specifically for Gosling.

The Nice Guys (2016)

The Nice Guys may be one of Ryan Gosling’s most underrated films. Set in 1977, Gosling plays a private eye who teams up with a muscle for hire enforcer, played by Russell Crowe, to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl. Written & directed by Shane Black, The Nice Guys is a dazzling blend of action, mystery, and comedy.

The film did not fare well in the box office, likely due to its release being moved up by nearly a month & not receiving much pre-release press. Today, The Nice Guys enjoys a small but passionate cult following. The film is worth watching for it’s brilliant reconstruction of seventies Los Angeles.

—

What are some of your favorite Ryan Gosling movies? Let us know in the comments below.