Posterized: Ryan Gosling
Saturday, March 30, 2013 at 4:00PM This, the Ryan Gosling edition of Posterized, has the cleanest trajectory of any I've done. It's like Young Hercules never put a foot wrong once he left minor teen success on tv for the movies at 20. It's just one steady climb up to superstardom: the showy debuts, the solidifying his rep years, the Oscar nominated and populist breakthroughs and then on to superstardom in 2011.
Hey girl, how many have you seen?
Young Hercules (1998-1999) | Remember the Titans (2000) |
The Believer (2001, Spirit Nom)
Who Was That?
15 More Films & The Gosling Ascendance after the jump...
The Slaughter Rule (2002) | Murder By Numbers (2002) | The United States of Leland (2003)
How About This Gosling Kid?
The Notebook (2004) | Stay (2005) |
Half Nelson (2006, Spirit Win, SAG Nom, Oscar Nom)
The Breakthrough
Fracture (2007) | Lars and the Real Girl (2007, Globe & SAG Noms) |
Blue Valentine (2010, Globe Nom, Oscar Nom grrrr)
Yep, He's the Real Deal
All Good Things (2010) | Crazy Stupid Love (2011, Globe Nom) | Drive (2011, Spirit Nom)
Undeniable Ascendance
The Ides of March (2011, Globe Nom) | Ganster Squad (2013) | The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
The Threatening To Quit Years
Ryan Gosling is only 32 years old... (33 in November) which is just about the time when male stars usually start breaking through and having their "Half Nelson" years as their richest roles arrive in the thirtysomething and fortysomething years. But he's already there, having ascended by the age of 30. Don't quit now, Gosling! Don't quit now.
Are you excited about his future or do you think he's already peaked given his apparently wandering interest? He's got two more films in the can: the next from both Terrence Malick (Untiled) and his Drive auteur Nicolas Winding Refn (Only God Forgives)... but he's moving on to directing next with How To Catch a Monster (2014) which will star his Drive co-star Christina Hendricks and his girlfriend Eva Mendes.
Reader Comments (25)
I'm interested to see how his directorial debut is received. If the film is great, he could have an interesting career as a director. As for whether or not he's actually quitting, he has taken three years off (2007-2010) before so I wouldn't be surprised if he plans on taking another hiatus. I just hope he doesn't stay away for TOO long!
He's my favorite actor. I love JGL too, but Ryan Gosling really gets me excited (and I don't even mean sexually). I'm such an actressexual that actors don't usually interest me; either the movie--or role--has to be really interesting, or the film has to feature some great actresses/roles for actresses.
But Ryan Gosling is the male actor that does this for me. He's just that great, and something about him interests/intrigues me. He's not like all the other white male actors who I find rather bland and boring. That's why I also really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
I don't know why I'm rambling, lol. But this thought struck me when I went to see Stoker recently and the preview for The Place Beyond the Pines came on. He's just exciting.
I don't think he's peaked, not by a longshot. I really see him as a malleable/chameleonic actor, the kind that auteurs favour. If he can balance those types of films with more populist stuff, he'll be alright.
And I dont think he's serious when it comes to him 'quitting', maybe just bored at the moment;; as soon as something interesting comes by he'll be the first to jump on it. But the question is when will that happen? Sooner rather than later I hope.
I think he got his nose job right after The Notebook, so I always categorize his career as pre-nose job and post-nose job.
Are you a fan of The Notebook (and Nicholas Sparks adaptations in general), Nathaniel?
@Tyler: you stole my idea of his pre-nose job career and his post nose job career
i saw 13 movies : i remember the first time i saw him in THE BELIEVER and i hate THE NOTEBOOK and i love LARS
Tyler -- can you believe i've never seen it? I didn't know he had a nose job? did he really? I often find the before and after stuff on the internet bogus since people's faces do change and shift as they age.
Philip -- i totally feel the same. For me Gosling and Fassbender are the reigning Honorary Actresses of recent years. They're currently what Jude Law & Ewan McGregor used to be for me. Exciting to watch every time.
Damian -- true. I'm just an alarmist because he's been so great that i don't want him to quit.
Remember when he dated Sandra Bullock? Crazy...
Anyway, I didn't realize that he really hasn't done that many films... especially prestige ones. He's really made an impact with a selective resume.
9 of 18. Cannot wait for Only God Forgives. Interesting that you see him like you once saw Law. Murder By Numbers wasn't amazing, but his work in that (the first time I'd seen him) reminded me a bit of early Law in that he absolutely owned every frame he was in. And of course he was soon on to much more impressive performances.
I've seen 10 and I really like him in all of them, and that includes Murder by Numbers!
I'm a fan.
PS Great nose job. Who would have known?!!
Fan since his Mickey Mouse Club Days. Lars and the Real Girl is my fave performance of his. He didn't say he was quitting just taking a break.
I have seen eight of the movies in his filmography so far. I find it fascinating that although "Fracture" was released on the heels of his "Half Nelson" Oscar nod, it's still an easy one to overlook. My best friend with whom I saw the movie had completely forgotten it existed when I mentioned it one day.
8 of 18. Of what I haven't seen, I'll probably see The Believer and Place Beyond the Pines.
I've seen 9 so far.
I think he's wise to take a break right now, he's been making a lot of pictures lately and risks overexposure. He seems to be at that point that a lot of promising actors & actresses reach where they are being offered everything and appear in too many films back to back squandering their goodwill.
Jude Law is a prime example of this where he was ubiquitous for a time in one piece of crap after another and now is through as a big time leading man. Back in the studio era and actor would appear in one film after another and could withstand a flop or two if they were big enough, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and Bette Davis all appeared in their share of dogs, because the studio was crafting films to their strengths but now the performer is left to their own devices. I understand the "make hay while the sun shines" mentality but unless their choices are stellar, which rarely happens, they are better off spacing out their appearances.
On the other hand he doesn't want to take too long a break and lose his momentum. Valerie Perrine was IT right after being Oscar nominated for "Lenny", hot as a pistol but was too choosy and waited two years before making her follow up appearance in W.C. Fields & Me and when it flopped all that was gone and she settled into supporting work.
Hope he manages it well, he's a fine actor and an interesting personality as well as attractive.
I've seen 15, and I own 6 of them!
Should have won the Oscar in '06, and Whitaker should have takes Supporting Actor.
And anyone who hasn't seen "The Believer," needs to get busy!
Only two for me, Remember the Titans and Drive, I want to see Lars, Valentine, and Half Nelson before any other title.
I wish he took himself less seriously or at the very least, dropped that vocal affectation. Whether or not he claims to say the accent just 'stuck' he has gotten worse with it in The Gangster Squad, Blue Valentine, and Crazy, Stupid, Love to the point it was a hindrance on my viewing experience of those 3 movies. There are times where he verges on camp in those movies or in the Nicolas Cage zone (that I am not sure is a good thing or a bad thing even as I am an unironic, unflinching Nic Cage fan).
I went 16/18. I need to see Fracture. Favorites are: Drive (though I still think Mulligan and Brooks slay him in scenes) and Half Nelson (what the hell happened to Shareeka Epps?). I may be in the minority, I never come off thinking he was the best thing in his movies aside from Half Nelson, though Epps kept it close. And I am hearing that Bradley Cooper (along with Dane DeHaan and Ben Mendelsohn) seems to be thought of as the best thing about The Place Beyond the Pines, and it does not surprise me even if the thought of that 1-2 years ago sounds insane. Gosling needs to drop the men who emote a lot in silence. Maybe the supposed break will help.
The Place Beyond the Pines was shot in my hometown. I knew people who were PAs, interns, extras, and the owner of my favorite local establishment actually became Bradley Cooper's personal chef. The movie's mixed reception has worried me a bit (not to mention that idiot Jeff Wells taking shots at the area while other critics of the movie seemed to not have to stoop to do), particularly Gosling's performance. That said, everybody in the cast was a sweetheart during the shooting of the movie. It helped that one of the screenwriters hailed from the area.
Oh, and I've seen ...
Remember the Titans (a long time ago I'm pretty sure)
Murder by Numbers (a long time ago)
The Notebook
Half Nelson
Blue Valentine
Crazy Stupid Love
Drive
I've actually seen a lot. Wow. I'm kind of surprised haha.
I am going to watch Lars and the Real Girl soon. And All Good Things (for KiKi). And I still want to watch The Believer!
I've seen everything but the Young Hercules thing and The Place Beyond the Pines. Doubt his threatened retirement will stick, but I consider it somewhat worrying that he needs to rediscover why he's acting, or whatever his excuse is, when he's been working with Refn, Malick and Cianfrance lately. Not that two of the three are all time greats, but they're serious, ambitious filmmakers doing solid work, so, you know, what else is Gosling looking for? Maybe he'll find it behind the camera.
Or maybe Gangster Squad really fucked his shit up.
I'm proud to say I've seen them all except Beyond the Pines, which as soon as it hits theaters I'll be seeing. I've been a huge fan since MMC. I have very much enjoyed growing up with him and actors like Dunst, Williams, JGL, and Hathaway. Watching their film choices grow along with my taste in films has been quite thrilling.
Breaker High Ryan deserves mention too!
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/breaker%20high
Philip H -- All Good Things is the only recent performance of his I haven't liked. Kiki runs circles around him in their scenes together. It's a weird misfire for him but worth seeing for her.
Jonn -- that's great. I have that experience too albeit with the generation before :)
CMG -- intersting to hear the Cage comparison (one of my least favorite actors) but when I was writing my Pines review I did realize that this is kind of a variation on his Drive performance and it does have really strange similarities.
One of the things I've always admired about Gosling is his rapport with the actresses he works with. He seems to totally get on their wavelength, give them his total attention, and they are equals.
I'd love to see this kind of rapport used in directing. Weren't there classic directors, like George Cukor, who were known as "women's directors" because actresses could trust them and do their best work?
And now Gosling is in love with Eva Mendes, and is going to make a movie that shows how talented she is. This makes me like him even more. I have lots of respect for artists who respect and encourage the talents of others.
It wasn't until just now that I remembered all that talk about him after The Believer and Murder By Numbers, which was all "Ryan Gosling - a great young actor - expect great things from him!" But even then, I don't think anyone could have seen the Half Nelson performance coming, let alone the movie star/hunk-of-everyone's-fantasies ascendancy that came in the wake of Crazy Stupid Love. He's constantly surprising, which bodes well.
I remember seeing Fracture in the theater - both he and Hopkins are really good in it; I'm actually kind of surprised that it hasn't become a constant player on cable TV, since it's basically an extended Law & Order episode type of thing. Haven't seen it since, but I imagine it would play really well on TV. I still need to see Lars & The Real Girl, which I keep hearing great things about.
Maybe his face did just change with time... Hopefully that's what happened with Kate Winslet! The bridge of her nose does seem thinner, but she really doesn't seem like the type of person who would have plastic surgery.
But here's a "before and after" of Gosling: http://alteredidentity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ryan-gosling-nose.jpg
I'm not worried. This is the second time he's done this. Remember that weird gap in '07-10? I recall reading rumors about him wanting to quit acting back then, too. I don't know, I think it's not that unusual for actors, especially male actors, to do this. If that's what he needs to do to get over burnout fatigue or whatever it is and then come back fully charged and ready to turn out more quality performances instead of going Gerald Butler/Matthew McConnaughey (both of whom, too, arguably took a break from "acting" for a while) on us, then so be it.