Canadian actor Ryan Gosling established himself with misfit outsider roles in award-winning independent films like "The Believer" (2001), “Half Nelson” (2006), and “Lars and the Real Girl” (2007). Gosling had a flare for delving into the psyche of misguided (or lost) characters like a neo-Nazi teen and a small town loner with a sex doll for a girlfriend. Perhaps it was his own off-screen history as a wild child who finally found his niche that enabled him to make even dangerous types sympathetic. Early teen TV fare and a few roles in bigger budget films like “The Notebook” (2004) earned Gosling a fair amount of teen heartthrob buzz, but his lack of interest in mainstream movies assured his street cred with art house audiences and film critics.
Gosling was born on Nov. 12, 1980, in a small town called London in Ontario, Canada. He seemed to be at odds with his surroundings from the very beginning, and somehow got the idea in his head that being an entertainer would be an easy ticket out of his working class mill town. Gosling had some success doing dance routines on a local talent TV show, but offstage, had trouble with academics and socializing in school. In fact, after a particularly grisly fight on school grounds, he left to be home schooled instead. In 1992, he brought his dance moves to an audition for the Disney Channel’s revival of “The Mickey Mouse Club” (1989-1994), winning a spot alongside future singing stars Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. The untrained entertainer’s talents proved to be limited alongside the cast of hardcore “child performers,” so Gosling found himself relegated to a lot of peripheral roles as a back-up dancer.
Being a performer had hardly saved his soul thus far, but it seemed like the easiest way to a good life, so Gosling persevered, moving to Los Angeles on his own when he was 16 years old. He immediately landed work, delivering a well-received turn as a British foundling in an episode of "The Road to Avonlea" (CBC, 1990-96; aired in the USA on Disney Channel), which brought him a Gemini Award nomination. In 1997, Gosling was tapped to play the smooth-talking hypochondriac Sean Hanlon in "Breaker High" (USA Network, 1997-98), a series about a high school set on a cruise ship. His goofy charm and blond, vulnerable looks earned him teen pin-up status, which was further enhanced by his casting as "Young Hercules" (Fox, 1998-99), a sort of prequel to the popular series starring Kevin Sorbo. Gosling was fairly devastated when the show was cancelled and even considered getting out of acting, in light of his bad programming luck, but he returned from the show’s set in New Zealand to L.A., where his personal and professional breakthroughs were right around the corner.
Gosling made the transition to the big screen with a small role in the football drama, "Remember the Titans" (2000), but it was an offer from independent director Henry Bean to star in “The Believer” (2001) that made Gosling finally recognize his potential. Through playing an articulate and intelligent young Jewish teen who becomes involved with a neo-Nazi group, Gosling understood the power of acting for both the actor and the audience — how it was a tool to explore human nature and try to understand life. He had never been asked to work with material of this depth, and his innate grasp of conflicted human emotions helped the film pick up the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
Armed with the knowledge that independent films were going to be his ticket to further soul-searching, he took on the role of another conflicted teen who forms an emotional bond with his football coach in "The Slaughter Rule" (2002), which was roundly praised by critics for avoiding the pitfalls of sports film clichés, as well as for its captivating performance by Gosling. He was lured into big budget territory with a promisingly dark story about a murderous teen trying to outwit an FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) in "Murder by Numbers" (2002). Gosling's performance in that film made a mark among Hollywood players, but to the public, he became primarily known as Bullock's rumored much younger paramour. Both denied any romantic relationship, but did not stop tabloids from buzzing about it nonetheless.
Gosling next delivered an adroit turn as the autistic Leland in the otherwise disappointing indie "The United States of Leland" (2004), before landing his breakout mainstream role playing the romantic lead opposite Rachel McAdams in Nick Cassavetes' effectively sentimental and emotional "The Notebook" (2004). Cast against type after Cassavetes saw "The Believer" and thought the actor had unexplored depths, Gosling delivered a warm and charming performance buoyed by a heartbreaking depression that elevated his status among the actors of his generation. And to the delight of romantics everywhere, Gosling and McAdams eventually came out as a real-life couple after the film's release, staying together and off the tabloid radar until their split in 2007.
Less satisfying than "The Notebook" was Marc Forster's ambitious, but murky psychological thriller "Stay" (2005), about a shrink (Ewan McGregor) whose suicidal patient (Gosling) somehow begins invading his dreams and blurring the lines of their realities and individualities. That same year, Gosling traveled to the battle-torn Darfur region of Uganda and began writing a film about the tragedy of child soldiers. He was also a spokesperson for Invisible Children, an organization seeking to improve conditions for Ugandan children of war. He even addressed the State Department about the need for a U.S. presence and facilitation of a peace process in Darfur.
With “Half Nelson” (2006), it was announced to the entire Oscar-following world that Gosling was a serious contender. He gave a stellar performance as an idealistic and inspirational inner-city teacher who engages in an after school drug habit which is discovered by a troubled student (Shareeka Epps), leading to an unexpected friendship that threatens to either undo them both or bring about the change they both desperately need. Gosling again countered his character’s dark side with a believable charm that made the character unexpectedly sympathetic – enough that he was recognized with a Best Male Breakthrough Performance award from the National Board of Review and one for Best Male Lead from the Independent Spirit Awards. In an almost unheard-of Hollywood occurrence, the little-known independent actor found himself nominated for a Best Actor Oscar nomination alongside box office heavy-hitters Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter O’Toole, Will Smith and Forest Whitaker.
Hot off his Academy Award nomination, Gosling matched wits with acclaimed actor Anthony Hopkins in the well-reviewed courtroom thriller, “Fracture” (2007). He played an ambitious Deputy D.A. in line for a big promotion after a seemingly open-and-shut case against a wealthy aeronautical engineer (Hopkins) who shot and killed his much younger wife (Embeth Davidtz). Gosling was singled out by many critics for fully inhabiting a role that most other actors would have simply sleepwalked through.
He returned to independent film to take on another societal misfit in “Lars and the Real Girl” (2007), playing a small town introvert who begins to break out of his shell with the help of a life-like female doll he orders off the Internet. The offbeat comedy earned rave reviews and again Gosling was hailed as among the best up-and-coming actors of his generation; enough that his oddball performance garnered him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.