Ryan Gosling’s Glow-up Over the Last 20 Years
Ryan Thomas Gosling was born in Ontario, Canada, on November 12, 1980. As a child, he watched the 1990 action drama Dick Tracy and was inspired to become an actor….
Ryan Gosling attends the premiere of “The Believer” September 6, 2001 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, CA.
Daniel Kern/Getty ImagesRyan Thomas Gosling was born in Ontario, Canada, on November 12, 1980. As a child, he watched the 1990 action drama Dick Tracy and was inspired to become an actor. However, Gosling "hated" being a child, was bullied in elementary school, and had no friends until he was 14 or 15. In the first grade, he was heavily influenced by the action film First Blood, and took steak knives to school and threw them at other children during recess, which led to a suspension.
Gaining Confidence Through Performing
Gosling performed in front of audiences from an early age, encouraged by his older sister being a performer. He and his sister sang together at weddings, he performed with his uncle's Elvis Presley tribute act, Elvis Perry, and he took ballet. Performing boosted Gosling's self-confidence. Another interesting fact about his childhood growing up in Canada is that he developed an accent to sound like Marlon Brando because he thought having a Canadian accent did not sound "tough." In 1993, 12-year-old Gosling auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. He was given a two-year contract as a Mouseketeer and moved to Orlando, Florida, joining fellow cast members Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. Gosling has credited the experience with instilling in them "this great sense of focus."
Following the show's cancellation in 1995, Gosling returned to Canada, where he continued to appear on television series like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps. Gosling dropped out of high school at 17 to focus on his acting career and a year later, he moved to New Zealand to film Young Hercules as the show's title character. Following his work on the show, Gosling wanted to transition into film and not accept any more television work. He started out with indie films in the early 2000s before landing the lead in 2004's The Notebook alongside Rachel McAdams. Since then, Gosling has achieved widespread recognition with films such as Blue Valentine, Drive, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Place Beyond the Pines, La La Land, and Blade Runner 2049.
RELATED: Ryan Gosling Knew He Wanted Kids With Eva Mendes While Filming ‘The Place Beyond The Pines’
Keep scrolling to see how Gosling has glowed up, glowed down, then glowed right back up again over the last 20 years:
2001
Daniel Kern/Getty Images394086 07: Actor Ryan Gosling and actress Summer Phoenix attend the premiere of "The Believer" September 6, 2001 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Daniel Kern/Getty Images)
2002
Lawrence Lucier/Getty Images404044 03: Actor Ryan Gosling departs the after party for the film premiere Murder by Numbers April 16, 2002 in New York City. Actress Sandra Bullock stars in the film. (Photo by Lawrence Lucier/Getty Images)
2004
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES - JUNE 21: Actors Ryan Gosling (left) and Rachel McAdams arrive at the premiere of New Lines' "The Notebook" on June 21, 2004 at the Village Theatre, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
2005
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesUNIVERSAL CITY, CA - AUGUST 14: Actor Ryan Gosling arrives at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk on August 14, 2005 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
2006
Peter Kramer/Getty ImagesNEW YORK - AUGUST 02: Actor Ryan Gosling attends the Think Films premiere of "Half Nelson" at Tribeca Cinemas on August 2, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)
2007
Mark Davis/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 12: Actor Ryan Gosling arrives at the 7th Annual AFI Awards luncheon held at the Four Seasons Hotel on January 12, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)
2009
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 18: Actor Ryan Gosling arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Sugar" held at the Silver Screen Theater at the Pacific Design Center on March 18, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
2010
Jemal Countess/Getty ImagesPARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 24: Actor Ryan Gosling attends the "Blue Valentine" premiere during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theatre on January 24, 2010 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
2011
Andreas Rentz/Getty ImagesCANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Actor Ryan Gosling attends the "Drive" premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
2012
Sonia Recchia/Getty ImagesTORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 07: Actors Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling attend "The Place Beyond The Pines" premiere during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 7, 2012 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Sonia Recchia/Getty Images)
2014
Andreas Rentz/Getty ImagesCANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Ryan Gosling attends the "Lost River" premiere during the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2014 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
2015
Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesHOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 12: Actor Ryan Gosling attends the closing night gala premiere of Paramount Pictures' "The Big Short" during AFI FEST 2015 at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 12, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
2016
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesCANNES, FRANCE - MAY 15: Actor Ryan Gosling attends "The Nice Guys" premiere during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on May 15, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
2017
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesHOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 26: Actor Ryan Gosling attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
2018
Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesTORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 10: Ryan Gosling attends the "First Man" premiere during 2018 Toronto International Film Festival at The Elgin on September 10, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
2022
Amy Sussman/Getty ImagesHOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 13: Ryan Gosling attends the World Premiere of Netflix's "The Gray Man" at TCL Chinese Theatre on July 13, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
2023
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 25: Ryan Gosling speaks onstage as he promotes the upcoming film "Barbie" during the Warner Bros. Pictures Studio presentation during CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 25, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
