Top 5 Ryan Gosling Performances
By Austin Johnson
Ryan Gosling has been in the entertainment realm for a long time, taking part in Disney Channel’s Mickey Mouse Club and family TV roles at a very young age. He spent his teenage years working tirelessly for TV, before landing the role of Alan Bosley in Remember the Titans. He was a badass cornerback for his football team before Donald Faison a.k.a. Petey Jones, replaced him. Ryan displayed some humor and ability to work well with others in the early stages of his career, but he quickly became a standout in smaller films during the early and mid 2000’s.
Now, of course we all know about The Notebook in 2004, but the films that surround that are not nearly as popular up until we reach 2011, when Gosling landed roles in The Ides of March, Drive, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. Ever since then, Ryan has been right in front of us, blossoming into a full-fledged movie star. What’s great about Ryan is that he has always made role decisions on his own terms. Sure, he could be in whatever he wants and get a paycheck, but this is a man who is simply a student of the game. He takes roles based on what will challenge him and make him better as an overall actor. I gotta say, it’s been fucking beautiful to see firsthand. Gosling has been nominated twice by the Academy, won a Golden Globe for his role in La La Land, and has an additional four nominations from the Globes. He turns 39 later this year and I cannot wait to see what the next role will be.
Now, of course we all know about The Notebook in 2004, but the films that surround that are not nearly as popular up until we reach 2011, when Gosling landed roles in The Ides of March, Drive, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. Ever since then, Ryan has been right in front of us, blossoming into a full-fledged movie star. What’s great about Ryan is that he has always made role decisions on his own terms. Sure, he could be in whatever he wants and get a paycheck, but this is a man who is simply a student of the game. He takes roles based on what will challenge him and make him better as an overall actor. I gotta say, it’s been fucking beautiful to see firsthand. Gosling has been nominated twice by the Academy, won a Golden Globe for his role in La La Land, and has an additional four nominations from the Globes. He turns 39 later this year and I cannot wait to see what the next role will be.
5.) Sebastian in La La Land (2016)
“It's conflict and it's compromise, and it's just... it's new every
time. It's brand new every night. It's very, very exciting!” |
Damien Chazelle’s La La Land is likely to go down as the most well-received film that Gosling has ever appeared in. I fucking love this Sebastian character, who breathes for jazz, by far and away the greatest music genre of all time. Chazelle is a jazz fiend himself, who also directed Whiplash, which is just outstanding. This character was made for Ryan’s tall, lean build who seems to do no wrong when he’s tickling the ivories on screen. You can say what you want about La La Land as a film, but no one can deny the charisma that Gosling provided alongside the great Emma Stone, who won the Oscar for her performance as Mia. The film racked up a total of six Oscars, and Gosling scored a nomination. It was an absolute hit and will continue to be a part of Ryan’s great resume for the rest of his career.
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4.) Holland March in The Nice Guys (2016)
“I think I'm invincible. It's the only thing
that makes sense. I don't think I can die.” |
This film is so damn funny, I really think it’s the way to go with comedy. You can’t just make a movie like Superbad or Wedding Crashers anymore, so Shane Black got real creative with this mystery film that just guarantees laughs, but also keeps you on your toes. It’s the perfect balance of serious and silly, which Ryan seems to have in real life. We will surely see something similar to this kind of role in the future, maybe a reunion with Russell Crowe. Those two had some kind of chemistry that you can’t just find everywhere in films. It made pretty much no noise at all during award season, but those who have seen it know its brilliance.
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3.) Luke in The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
“He's my son and I should be around him. I wasn't
around my Dad and look at the fuckin' way I turned out.” |
It feels like Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines has been on Netflix for five straight years, yet it still remains a hidden gem. The construction of this film is remarkable and it just simply wouldn’t be possible without Gosling’s beautiful blonde hair, tatted up body, motorcycle riding, and constant cigarette smoking. It’s pretty great to see Ryan and Eva Mendes, a.k.a. Ryan’s wife, working together pre marriage. The cast is random as hell, but oh so good, with the likes of Ben Mendelsohn, Mahershala Ali, Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Dane DeHaan, and Emory Cohen all pulling their weight equally. But Gosling is no doubt the real star in this one. I’ll never stop recommending this film to people because it’s a beautiful snippet of fathers, sons, and sins. Like I said earlier, it’s a hidden gem that no one paid attention to, including all the folks that give out awards.
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2.) Dean in Blue Valentine (2010)
“Look, I didn't want to be somebody's husband and I didn't want to be somebody's dad. That wasn't my... goal in life. For some guys it is - wasn't mine. But somehow, I've... it was what I wanted. I didn't know that and it's all I wanna do. I don't want to do anything else. That's all I want to do. I work so I can do that.”
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If you thought The Notebook was a good love story, go watch Blue Valentine. This shit will rock your world, and make you think differently about what relationships mean all together. It’s the first of two films that Cianfrance and Gosling worked on together, and my goodness, they make up a dream combo. The combo we will remember most is what’s happening on the screen between Gosling and Michelle Williams, the only person recognized by the Academy in this film. I think Ryan got completely robbed of a nomination, but that just gives me more of a reason to share my opinions, and hopefully get you to go watch all of these films.
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1.) Dan Dunne in Half Nelson (2006)
“Change moves in spirals, not circles. For example, the sun goes up and then it goes down. But everytime that happens, what do you get? You get a new day. You get a new one. When you breathe, you inhale and you exhale, but every single time that you do that you're a little bit different then the one before. We're always changing. And it's important to know that there are some changes you can't control and that there are others you can.”
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And finally, at number one we have a performance done by Gosling when he was only 26 years old. You may know the director, Ryan Fleck, who just directed Captain Marvel. Obviously, Half Nelson is a much smaller film, but it immediately forces you to believe that Ryan is just a spectacular actor. At the time, he was the only person born in the 80’s to be nominated by the Academy. Think about that for a minute. He was 26! That's just unheard of when you are always stacked up against guys who have been doing it for a long time. And the girl that is on the screen with him most, Shareeka Epps, was only 17 at the time. I don’t know what happened to her, but she tore that performance up. There’s no doubt in my mind that the role of Dan Dunne is Gosling’s masterpiece.
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