Biography

Date of Birth

12 November 1980, London, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name

Ryan Thomas Gosling

Height

6' 1" (1.85 m)

Mini Biography

Ryan Gosling was born on November 12, 1980, in London, Ontario, to Thomas and Donna Gosling, and was the second of their two children. The Gosling family, moved to Cornwall, Ontario, where Ryan grew up and was home-schooled by his mother. Ryan attended Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational High School in Cornwall, where he excelled in Drama and Fine Arts. The family then relocated to Burlington, Ontario, where Ryan attended Lester B. Pearson High School in Burlington, Ontario.

Ryan first performed as a singer at talent contests with his older sister Mandi. He attended an open audition in Montreal for the TV series "The Mickey Mouse Club" ("The All New Mickey Mouse Club" (1989)) in January 1993 and beat out 17,000 other aspiring actors for a a spot on the show. While appearing on "MMC" for two years, he lived with co-star Justin Timberlake's family.

Though he received no formal acting training, after "MMC," Gosling segued into an acting career, appearing on the TV series "Young Hercules" (1998) and "Breaker High" (1997), as well as the films The Slaughter Rule (2002), Murder by Numbers (2002), and Remember the Titans (2000). He first attracted serious critical attention with his performance as the Jewish neo-Nazi in the controversial film The Believer (2001), which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. He was cast in the part by writer-director Henry Bean, who believed that Gosling's strict upbringing gave him the insight to understand the character Danny, whose obsessiveness with the Judaism he was born into turns to hatred. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as Best Male Lead in 2002 for the role and won the Golden Aries award from the Russian Guild of Film Critics.

After appearing in the sleeper The Notebook (2004) in 2004, Gosling won the dubious honor of being named one of the 50 Hottest Bachelors by People Magazine. More significantly, he was named the Male Star of Tomorrow at the 2004 Show West convention of movie exhibitors.

Gosling reached the summit of his profession with his performance in Half Nelson (2006), which garnered him an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. In a short time, he has established himself as one of the finest actors of his generation.

Trivia

Is an accomplished jazz guitarist and a fan of Chet Baker; started a band with his friend Zach Shields called Dead Man's Bones.
Parents: Thomas & Donna.
Has an older sister named Mandi.
First break came in January 1993 when open auditions were held in Montreal for "The All New Mickey Mouse Club" (1989).
Ryan went to Lester B. Pearson High School in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Was taken out of elementary school as a child and taught at home by his mother because of constant abuse from other students.
He has a dog named George.
Was in a relationship with Sandra Bullock, having met on the set of Murder by Numbers (2002) (May 2002-July 2003).
Built the kitchen table featured in The Notebook (2004) in preparation for his role as Noah.
Was named one of People Magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors [2004]
While on "The All New Mickey Mouse Club" (1989), he lived with Justin Timberlake and his mother.
Purchased the Jeep Cherokee driven by Ben Chaplin in Murder by Numbers (2002) from the set of the movie.
Favorite movie is East of Eden (1955)
Keeps in touch with his "Breaker High" (1997) co-star Scott Vickaryous.
Beat out 17,000 people for a place in "The All New Mickey Mouse Club" (1989) in January 1993
He was named the 2004 Sho West Male Star of Tomorrow
Born in London, Ontario, and moved soon after to Cornwall, Ontario, where he was raised. Then moved to Burlington, Ontario, during his high school years.
Born in the same hospital as his The Notebook (2004) co-star Rachel McAdams -- St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario -- though he's younger.
Has released a song titled "Put Me in the Car," which can be found on his Web site.
With two of his friends, he has opened a Moroccan restaurant called Tagine in Beverly Hills, California.
Was in a relationship with Rachel McAdams twice, having met on the set of The Notebook (2004). They were originally together from June 2005 to July 2007 before reconciling in August 2008, only to separate a second time in November 2008.
In school, his nickname was Trouble.
He moved to Los Angeles when he was 16.
Took his mother and his sister to the Oscars in 2007.
Traveled to Chad in 2005 to make a documentary on the Darfur refugees living there.
One of 115 people invited to join AMPAS in 2007.
Lives in the popular Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake. Other Silver Lake locals include Beck, Bo Barrett, Christina Ricci, Rachel McAdams, and Jason Lee.
Was the first Canadian-born performer in over 60 years to be nominated for the best actor Oscar in Half Nelson (2006). The last was 'Walter Pidgeon' for Madame Curie (1943).
Was originally cast as Jack Salmon in The Lovely Bones (2009), but after dropping out of the project a day before shooting began Mark Wahlberg was cast instead.
Was ranked #23 on Entertainment Weekly's '30 Under 30' the actors list. (2008).
Member of the same Los Angeles gym as Jason Sarayba, Bradley Cooper, Jodie Foster, Michelle Monaghan, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Ashley Tisdale.