When I discovered that Ryan Gosling had been added to co-writer and director Greta Gerwig’s Barbie cast in the role of Ken, I could not imagine there being a better choice. I say this not just because his classic good looks automatically make him a good fit to play the famed, longtime boyfriend of the titular iconic doll (played by Margot Robbie), but also because the impressive range and versatility he has shown throughout his career has proven to me that he would be a good fit for just about any character you task him with.
The Canadian-born, two-time Academy Award nominee made his acting debut as a member of the Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 when he was 13 years old. He would later go on to lead a phenomenal career on the big screen by playing the likes of a hopeless romantic, a few men desperate for romance, several action heroes, one wannabe hero, a jazz preservationist, and even an astronaut. Those are only a handful of my choices for the most memorable characters from some of the best Ryan Gosling movies so far — 12 of which I have collected here below.
Alan Bosley (Remember The Titans, 2000)
Years before he put his dance skills to great use in La La Land (more on that later), the first time he showed off his moves on the big screen was in his breakout film role as Alan Bosley in Remember the Titans. He is not exactly one of the top-tier characters of this great sports movie from Disney, which tells the true story of Coach Herman Boone (Academy Award winner Denzel Washington) and his attempt to bring T.C. Williams High School’s racially diverse football team together in early 1970s Virginia. However, Gosling still proved to be a standout by giving audiences their first taste of his budding charisma every moment he is on screen.
Richard Haywood (Murder By Numbers, 2002)
Moviegoers have become so well acquainted with Gosling’s more charming and heroic attributes that it is easy to forget that he has played a few bad guys in his day, and done it very well. One of his earliest and most sinister roles is Richard Haywood — a popular high school student who teams up with his less-popular classmate (Michael Pitt) to craft what they believe is the perfect crime, only to arouse the suspicion of veteran homicide detective (Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock), in 2002’s Murder By Numbers.
His best moments in the role — which make this a somewhat recent film worth remembering — occur when he is appearing opposite Bullock, who acts as a great intellectual sparring partner with him when portraying the intense, deadly cat-and-mouse game between their characters.
Noah (The Notebook, 2004)
The movie that made Gosling into the A-list heartthrob that he is today and convinced Hollywood that he had the chops to be a leading man is, undoubtedly, The Notebook — director Nick Cassavetes’ 2004 instant classic adaptation of Nicolas Sparks’ sweeping, heartbreaking World War II-era Romeo & Juliet story.
His preparation to play Noah — a poor young man who falls hopelessly in love with the well-to-do Allie (Rachel McAdams, whom Gosling dated in real life) — went further than reading the source material as, according to the New York Times, he actually built the table on which the central couple share an intimate moment. I suppose the hard work paid off, given how believable he is in the role and how painful his commitment to the woman he loves is to watch as a result.
Dan Dunne (Half Nelson, 2006)
Gosling’s preparation to play Dan Dunne — an inner city middle school teacher who forms a unique bond with a student (Shareeka Epps) after she discovers his secret crack addiction — in Half Nelson was, fortunately, not quite as method as his approach to playing Noah.
According to an interview with The Washington Post, all he did was shadow a junior high school teacher and brush up on the civil rights movement (which his character teaches in the powerful low-budget drama from future Captain Marvel helmers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden) while living in Brooklyn. That turned out to be all he needed to embody the deeply flawed, unlikely role model and put on a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination.
Lars Lindstrom (Lars And The Real Girl, 2007)
Even with a sadistic murderer and a crack addict on his resume, no character of Gosling's is more far removed from his widely perceived image than Lars Lindstorm. The title role of director Craig Gillespie’s bizarre dramedy, Lars and the Real Girl, is a shy, delusional loner who shocks his sister (Emily Mortimer) and brother-in-law (Paul Schneider) with the news that he is in a relationship with a mail-order sex doll.
In concept, this story is so odd it is almost laughable, but Gosling’s performance earns your deepest sympathies and makes you want to care for and believe in the love he has for the non-living Bianca.
Dean (Blue Valentine, 2010)
Out of all of the romantic stories that Gosling has been apart of, the most unique, raw, and distressing is easily director Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine, which is also one of Michelle Williams’ best movies. They are tour de force duo as Dean and Cindy — a couple who fall for each other at first sight, only to lead a romance that is doomed to fall apart due to their own unresolved flaws. While it is Williams’ performance that earned the drama its sole Academy Award nomination, the film’s biggest admirers recognize this powerful love story as a team effort, with Gosling carrying just as much honest, emotional intensity in his devastating portrayal.
Driver (Drive, 2011)
I became a devout admirer of Gosling’s talent when he led the Drive cast in director Nicolas Winding Refn’s instant classic that proves great noir movies still exist. Similar to when he took up craftsmanship for The Notebook, according to SlashGear, Gosling personally restored the 1973 Chevrolet Malibu that belongs to his character — a Hollywood stuntman by day, getaway driver by night who participates in an ill-fated heist to protect a woman he has fallen for (Carey Mulligan).
There is not much we know about the violent Driver — given his limited dialogue and concealed real name — but Gosling gives us everything we need in an unforgettably unique performs that brilliantly relies on silence and his imposing demeanor.
Jacob Palmer (Crazy Stupid Love, 2011)
He debuted two of his coolest characters in 2011 — the other being one of the first big screen roles that finally allowed him to really unleash his impeccable comedic skills when he joined the Crazy Stupid Love cast.
Jacob is also an especially notable part of the actor’s resume — not just for the memes — but his evolution from skilled womanizer mentoring recently divorced dad, Cal (Steve Carell), to desperately seeking his former apprentice’s approval when he unexpectedly falls in love with his daughter (Emma Stone). The film — one of the best romantic comedies in recent memory, or ever — introduced the world to Gosling and Stone’s amazing onscreen chemistry, which hit its peak in an Oscar winner we will get to soon.
Holland March (The Nice Guys, 2016)
Jacob Palmer was an important part of his repertoire as a comedic actor, but most would agree he has never been funnier than when he played private investigator Holland March in The Nice Guys.
Given his reputation, most might have expected him to play the straight man in writer and director Shane Black’s comedic mystery set in the 1970s, but he makes for a lovable oaf, especially when paired with Russell Crowe as the gruff Jackson Healy. The unlikely duo’s bizarre investigation into dizzying conspiracy linked to an LA porn star’s death might not have made such an impact — and led to sequel demands — if not for Gosling’s commitment to making a fool of himself.
Sebastian (La La Land, 2016)
We have already made it clear that Gosling is a man of many talents, but I think no fact proves his ability and commitment than the three months it took him to master the piano, according to Variety, in preparation for La La Land. The stunningly crafted, gorgeously shot, and heartwarmingly romantic musical — which earned Damien Chazelle an Oscar for directing — starred Gosling as passionate jazz musician Sebastian and Emma Stone as aspiring actor Mia. I cannot imagine the movie without the duo (Stone earned her Oscar here), who make their characters’ passion for the arts and each other — despite the bittersweet ending — so captivating and real.
K (Blade Runner 2049, 2017)
I may be a sucker for a good love story and a fun comedy, but I must admit that I do still prefer the talent at his more earnest, stoic, and, perhaps, even robotic. If you agree, there is no better place to turn than Denis Villeneuve’s arguably better sequel to Blade Runner, in which he plays a futuristic hunter of illegal, artificial humans whose investigation into a strange discovery leads him to question everything he knows about the world and himself.
I am endlessly in awe of how Gosling navigates K’s emotional journey throughout Blade Runner 2049, but especially give him props for holding his own opposite — and taking an accidental punch from — Harrison Ford, who reprised his role from the 1982 original as Rick Deckard.
Neil Armstrong (First Man, 2018)
Just a couple of years after La La Land, Chazelle freunited with the star for an entirely different kind of film that would be a more emotionally challenging experience, especially considering he would play a real and very important person in history.
His portrayal of Neil Armstrong in First Man would most definitely take audiences by surprise for the way it exposes the moon-walking legend as a complicated, socially distant, and emotionally stunted individual, instead of the glowing hero most Americans have perceived him as since that monumental day in 1969. While Buzz Aldrin was not a fan, I think the biopic is one of Gosling’s strongest films and bears one of his boldest performances yet.
After witnessing the many shades of Ryan Gosling so far, I can only imagine how his performance as Ken in Barbie will compare to his previous achievements. I think if one thing is for sure — if we take Eva Mendes’, praise of his “Ken-ergy” into account — it will certainly be memorable.
