November 12th, 2008 - Happy Birthday Ryan Gosling!

He is best known for his roles in The Notebook, Half Nelson, and Lars and the Real Girl.

Ryan Gosling was born in London, Ontario, Canada and raised in the small city of Cornwall, the son of Donna, a secretary, and Thomas Gosling, a paper mill worker. His parents, who were Mormons, divorced when he was young. He had difficulty in school and often engaged in fights with fellow students. On an appearance on the late night Canadian talk show Open Mike with Mike Bullard, Gosling told of how he was bullied in elementary school (he attended East Front Public School in Cornwall). His mother withdrew him from school and taught him at home from the age of ten. While Gosling’s mother was Mormon, he was not raised in a strictly devout household and never really identified with Mormonism. After returning to the public system, he went to Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School. The family then relocated to Burlington, Ontario, where Ryan attended Lester B. Pearson High School (Burlington). Gosling dropped out at age seventeen.

When Gosling first came to live in Los Angeles in 1997, he was given a place to stay at the West Hollywood apartment of Director Ron Oliver (Goosebumps & Breaker High).

Gosling has had no formal training as an actor. His first acting experience was in the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club, for which he auditioned on a whim at the age of thirteen. As a result, he appeared in the show alongside Britney Spears, Keri Russell, Nikki DeLoach, Tony Lucca, Lindsey Alley, Christina Aguilera, JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake in the show’s sixth and seventh seasons.

Later he appeared in other television series including Flash Forward, Young Hercules, and Ron Oliver’s Goosebumps and Breaker High.

His fame spread to the United States after he starred in the 2001 controversial drama The Believer, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. This success led to future films including Remember the Titans, The Slaughter Rule, and Murder by Numbers.

Because of his turn as the romantic lead in the 2004 film The Notebook, Gosling was named one of People magazine’s Fifty Hottest Bachelors and the Show West Male Star of Tomorrow.

Megan Mullally-Actress -50
Sam Lloyd-Actor -41
Tamala Jones-Actress -34
Angela Watson-Actress -34
Ashley Williams-Actress -30
Anne Hathaway-Actress -26

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