Ryan Gosling (born 12.11.1980) is a Canadian actor who came up through the ranks, first as a child star on the Mickey Mouse Club and then graduating to adult roles in the likes of Half Nelson and Blue Valentine.

Childhood: Ryan Gosling was born in London, Ontario, to Thomas and Donna Gosling. His father was a travelling salesman for a paper mill and his mother is now a high school teacher. He was raised as a Mormon and after his parents split, he was raised by his mother, along with his older sister.

Whilst he was in First Grade at school, Gosling brought steak knives into school and threw them at other pupils. The incident led to him being suspended. He was later diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin. His mother quit her job so that he could be homeschooled.

Ryan and his sister both performed from an early age; they sang at weddings and Ryan sang with his uncle's Elvis Presley tribute act.

Acting Career: At the age of 12, Ryan Gosling attended an open audition in Montreal for the Disney Chanel's Mickey Mouse Club. It's an institution that has spawned a huge number of stars, such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. As a result of the audition, Gosling was offered a two-year contract as a 'mouseketeer' and moved to Orlando, Florida. Although he was onscreen less than other co-stars, he credits the job as giving him a sense of focus.

As a result of his time on the show, Ryan became good friends with Justin Timberlake. They lived together for six months whilst they worked on the show and Justin's mother even became Ryan's legal guardian for a time, after Ryan's mother had to return to Canada for work reasons.

When the show was cancelled in 1995, Ryan Gosling returned to Canada. He went on to appear in a number of family entertainment shows such as Are You Afraid of the Dark, Goosebumps and Breaker High. He then moved country once more in order to advance his career, filming the series Young Hercules in New Zealand. Once he had finished the series, he decided to concentrate on film work.

After landing a supporting role in Remember the Titans, which starred Denzel Washington, Kate Bosworth and Hayden Panettiere. He then went on to play the lead role in The Believer in 2001, playing the role of a Jewish Neo-Nazi. The film also starred Summer Phoenix and Billy Zane. Gosling's performance was highly acclaimed and the film won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance film festival.

In 2002, Gosling appeared in Murder By Numbers, along with Michael Pitt and Sandra Bullock. His second appearance of the year was in The Slaughter Rule, alongside David Morse, in which his performance was likened by critics to that of a young Matt Dillon. The following year, he played the role of an imprisoned teenager in The United States of Leland.

A breakthrough role for Ryan Gosling came in 2004, when he appeared alongside Rachel McAdams in The Notebook. The film also starred James Garner and Sam Shepard and provided Gosling with yet more positive critical reviews. Then, in 2005, he played the role of a young art student in Stay, with Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, though his reviews for this film were far less favourable than some of his previous performances.

Ryan then starred in Half Nelson, which helped to raise his profile amongst movie fans. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the movie, which saw him playing the role of a teacher who forms a bond with a young student. In the comic 2007 film Lars and the Real Girl, Ryan Gosling plays the role of an introverted guy who falls in love with a sex doll. He found himself nominated for a Golden Globe for the role.

Also that year, Gosling appeared alongside Anthony Hopkins in Fracture. He originally turned the role down but when he heard that Hopkins had signed up, he made an about-turn on the decision. Gosling was then absent from the big-screen for a few years, but made a prolific comeback, starring in five films in two years. One of these was 2010's Blue Valentine, in which he starred opposite Michelle Williams, landing another Golden Globe nomination. Additionally, he appeared alongside Kirsten Dunst in All Good Things and then took to a more comic role opposite Steve Carell and Emma Stone in Crazy, Stupid, Love. This was followed with a starring role in Drive, based on a novel by James Sallis, in which he plays the role of a Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a getaway driver. His final film of 2011 was The Ides of March, which was directed by George Clooney and co-starred Philip Seymour Hoffman. Once more, Gosling found himself on the Golden Globes nominations list.

Ryan Gosling is also a keen musician. He has released solo work, as well as recording with the band Dead Man's Bones.

Personal Life: Ryan Gosling lives in New York. He has dated a number of actresses, including former co-stars Sandra Bullock and Rachel McAdams. In 2011, he began dating Eva Mendes.

Biography by Contactmusic.com