Many of his female fans and most film critics would disagree, but Ryan Gosling says he only landed the leading part in “The Notebook,” which virtually put him on the map, because he's neither handsome nor cool.

In a recent interview, the actor, who has won over critics with a string of very powerful performances in the past couple of years, and more female fans with his brooding and tough yet lovable persona, says that he wasn't always like that.

When he went and auditioned for “The Notebook,” he was just some guy fresh off the Mickey Mouse club and he didn't really know what to do with himself.

Yet, he knew that he wanted to meet Rachel Welch and that the only way he could do that was if he was in showbiz too, he says, as cited by Us Magazine.

“The director, Nick Cassavetes, called me to meet him at his house,” Gosling says of auditioning for “The Notebook,” considered to this day one of the most romantic movies ever made.

“When I got there, he was standing in his back yard, and he looked at me and said, 'I want you to play this role because you’re not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You’re not handsome. You’re not cool, you’re just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts',” Ryan adds.

Clearly, Ryan is not handsome in a standard way, but he's no ugly duckling either. He has charisma and a gorgeous smile. Last but not least, he has an amazing six-pack, as this video here also illustrates.

Many would also argue against the statement that he's not “cool,” having already proved he can carry off a variety of roles, the more diverse the better.

Speaking of how he got the idea to try for a career in showbiz, Ryan admits the thought first occurred to him at a very young age, as he was watching TV.

“One day, I saw Raquel Welch on The Muppet Show. She was dancing with this big furry spider and I immediately fell in love. She was the first crush I ever had, and I thought, 'How do I get to meet this woman?' And then I thought, 'Well, she’s on TV, so to meet her I have to get on TV myself',” he explains.

No word yet on whether he ever got to meet Rachel.