Ryan Gosling returns to the big screen this Friday in the already critically acclaimed sci-fi epic, Project Hail Mary, which is already being called a classic of the genre and an early potential Best Picture contender at next year’s Academy Awards. Gosling is no stranger to accolades, having been nominated for three Academy Awards and winning one Golden Globe Award across what has been a very successful career. He’s come a long way from being a part of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, and he continues to solidify why he’s one of the best actors of his generation. As Project Hail Mary prepares to dominate the box office this weekend, it’s the right time to look back at the five best Ryan Gosling performances ever.
Honorable Mention: Jacob Palmer in Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Gosling is a good-looking guy with character actor sensibilities, so it was a fun switch-up to watch him lean into his more superficial traits in Crazy, Stupid. Love, without losing the depth necessary to give his character vulnerability that went beyond his suave personality. Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, Crazy, Stupid, Love follows interconnected love stories that are led by the recently separated Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) who learns how to be more romantci and charm the ladies courtesy of the womanizing Jacob Palmer (Gosling), who is known for taking women to bed but meets his match when he comes across Hannah (Emma Stone), who turns out to be comically close to Cal.
Gosling is pure charisma in Crazy, Stupid, Love, portraying a confident womanizer who still manages to have a heart beating beneath the surface. Gosling has wonderful buddy-buddy chemistry with Carell, which leads to some of the film’s best moments, but it’s his chemistry with Stone that proves to be electric. Hannah can crack what makes Jacob the way he is, and that’s when Gosling is given more layers to work with. It’s a wonderfully comedic performance that Gosling gives the proper amount of nuance to. The performance works because, at his core, Gosling really isn’t the suave and confident ladies’ man in the traditional sense in his real life, but he’s smart enough to lean into the persona to bring Jacob to life.
5. Holland March in The Nice Guys (2016)
With movies like Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Nice Guys, Gosling began to showcase a comedic side he rarely showed, as he was known more for hard-hitting dramas. In the latter film, he reiterated why his comedic chops are just as good as his dramatic instincts. Written by Shane Black from a screenplay he co-wrote with Anthony Bagarozzi, The Nice Guys is set in 1970s Los Angeles and follows Holland March (Gosling), a private eye, and Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), an enforcer for hire, who ally to investigate the disappearance of Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley).
While Crazy, Stupid, Love was a lighter, more charming comedic endeavor, The Nice Guys allowed Gosling to dive into slapstick, showcasing a knack for physical comedy that gives the film some of its best moments. It’s a high-energy performance that is expertly matched with Crowe’s more “straight man” portrayal, which makes them a fun comedic duo. Perhaps because this is naturally within Gosling, he also makes you like Holland despite all of his clumsiness by giving him a heart and making him strangely likable. The Nice Guys was criminally underseen when it was first released, but time has made it a bit of a cult classic that has allowed many more to catch Gosling’s great work in the film.
4. The Driver in Drive (2011)
Gosling not only proved he could take on action in Drive, but he also displayed a masterclass in silence and quiet intensity that has served to make this one of his most memorable performances. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn from a screenplay by Hossein Amini, Drive is based on James Sallis’ 2005 novel of the same name and follows an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver by day who is a getaway driver by night. Things for him grow complicated when he falls for his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos), as her less-than-savory husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released from prison and they both become involved in a failed heist that puts everyone in danger.
Drive isn’t a typical action film, and Gosling doesn’t give a typical action star performance. The film is highly stylized, choosing to be more prestige in nature rather than a popcorn action romp. There is depth to the film, and Gosling matches that depth with a performance that proves less is more. He uses his physicality more than dialogue, but he balances his more silent portrayal with visceral bursts of sudden violence that prove to be alarming and surprising because of what he chooses to suppress throughout most of his performance. He also shows shades of sensitivity in his scenes with Mulligan, which offers a nice balance from his cold-as-ice demeanor that makes the character very good at his dual jobs.
Gosling brings mystery to the role and makes him a compelling figure that the audience wants to learn more about. Sometimes performances don’t need to be emotive to be powerful, and Gosling proves that by always suggesting there is more beneath the surface.
3. Ken in Barbie (2023)
Gosling has been known for being committed to his roles, whether they’re dramatic or comedic, and he proved to be 100 percent committed to bringing Ken to life in Barbie, leading to another masterclass in comedic timing that actually found a balance between the funny moments and the ones that allowed the character to be more than a caricature or an outrageous form of parody. Directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she co-wrote with her husband, Noah Baumbach.
Barbie is based on Mattel’s very successful fashion doll line and brings them into a live-action film that sees the titular character (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Gosling) as they leave Barbieland on a journey of self-discovery into the real world. Everything about Barbie shouldn’t work, but thanks to Gerwig’s direction and the script she wrote with Baumbach, Barbie manages to not only be a hilarious comedy but also a biting social commentary about the treatment of women, their role in the world, and how they’re more than what is offered to them. In the midst of this is Gosling’s performance as Ken, one that manages to give the character nuance that others may have missed.
He’s comedic to the over-the-top comedic bits that he has to engage in, but instead of portraying him as a pure narcissist, he gives Ken an almost childlike naivety and absurdity that makes the audience never hate him as he discovers the patriarchy and uses it in the wrong way when he returns to Barbieland. It’s a scene-stealing performance that works on multiple levels, with Gosling completely understanding the assignment that made Ken more than a sidekick to Barbie and a fully fleshed-out character. The performance earned him his third Academy Award nomination (for Best Supporting Actor) and made it more than clear that sometimes Gosling’s comedic chops are unmatched.
2. Sebastian “Seb” Wilder in La La Land (2016)
Gosling takes charm to the next level in La La Land, a film that allowed him to show different facets of his talents that he hadn’t really explored in his adult performances. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, La La Land follows Sebastian “Seb” Wilder (Gosling), a struggling jazz pianist, and Amelia “Mia” Dolan (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, as they both try to follow their dreams under the starry nights of Los Angeles and fall in love in the process. Gosling channels some of the old Hollywood greats in this homage to musicals of the past and more than encompasses those traits in a performance that is charismatic but suitably relatable as a dreamer who is dedicated to his craft but flawed in the sense that his stubbornness tends to get in the way.
Gosling is a triple threat here, engaging in singing, dancing, and playing the piano, the latter of which he trained so hard at that he didn’t have to use hand doubles in the film. For those familiar with The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, Gosling has been a natural performer since he was young, and he brings all of the performance physicality to the role, but without seeming too polished, as Seb is never meant to be a tour-de-force singer or dancer. The chemistry he shared with Stone in Crazy, Stupid, Love is amplified here as the audience roots for them to make it, even though it’s obvious that the romance is likely doomed because of the key differences between them that ultimately drive them apart.
They both bring their heart and souls to the performances, but Gosling’s is always on his sleeve as someone who’s trying to follow his dreams and his love for Mia, knowing that something will have to give if either of them is to succeed in their own right. It’s easy for the audience to see a lot of themselves in Seb, and that is in large part due to the emotional depth that Gosling brings to the role.
1. Dean Pereira in Blue Valentine (2010)
Gosling has said in recent years that he’s stepping away from intense roles like the one he portrayed in Blue Valentine due to his two daughters becoming older and more aware of the work he’s doing so at least his portrayal of Dean Pereira is here to forever be looked at and respected, despite some of the very dark and real places that Blue Valentine goes to. Directed by Derek Cianfrance from a screenplay he co-wrote with Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne, Blue Valentine follows the volatile and dysfunctional relationship between Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) as they struggle through their differences to raise their daughter, which is juxtaposed with the romantic beginnings of their relationship as it falls apart during their marriage over the years.
Blue Valentine is not an easy watch. In fact, it’s a literal gut punch, but there is no denying its power and honesty in its portrayal of relationships that can begin in bliss and eventually decline into resentment and anger. Gosling is beautifully raw in his portrayal of Dean, bringing emotional depth to a role that saw him being someone who once put his hopes on romance and has since turned into someone bitter and unrecognizable. Gosling makes the wise choice of not depicting Dean as a villain since Blue Valentine does a good job of driving it home that relationships falling apart is usually a two-way street. Dean loves hard, but he’s fiercely insecure and grows even more so as he fights desperately to save a marriage that may not be worth saving.
Gosling and Williams share a palpable chemistry, able to portray the love they once shared while also playing the heartbreaking reality of their growing disdain. While Gosling received a Golden Globe nomination for his role here, only Williams earned an Academy Award nomination, which is a shame because Gosling matches her pitch with a performance that is tragically authentic, powerful, and truly unforgettable.
Project Hail Mary opens nationwide in theaters this Friday.
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