As an off-topic, I realise that this one might be a bit of a stretch, but think of it this way: Ryan Gosling is Canadian AND he seems smart, hence Smart Canuck! 😉 So there shouldn’t be any complaints, right?
Over the weekend, I saw Drive and all I have to say is WOW. The man can act. Yes, even though he has a page of dialogue throughout the entire film, as the lead, there is no doubt of his acting chops. According to this article, Gosling told the producers that he didn’t want to do the lines, but that he would convey everything through his face! Who does that nowadays??
(If you do plan to watch Drive, I highly recommend that you go in knowing as little as possible. Don’t watch the trailers or read reviews!)
I think 2011 is certainly Gosling’s year as not only has he starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love. and Drive, but The Ides of March (with George Clooney as director) is set to be released soon. I don’t get the whole Clooney thing, but there are some other pretty heavy hitters in Ides like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti. And although the plot doesn’t interest me, i.e. politicians, politics, and scandal, I’m still going to watch because Gosling’s in it!
Anyway, through a job that I’ve had, I have had the err…um…pleasure of meeting many celebrities. And I hate to say it, but I pretty much regret every encounter that I was looking forward to! For the most part, they’re not like you or me, these actor-types are WEIRD. All the stereotypes about them exist for a reason: They’re really insecure, yet they have to pretend that they’re confident, they sound like robots on the red carpet/interviews, some can probably be the subject on A&E’s Intervention, while others are complete douchebags all because of their imdb profile!
SO I’m reaching out to all you SCers, if you know Ryan Gosling, please tell me he’s a nice kid…still. Please tell me that Hollyweird hasn’t chewed him up, spitting out some rude automaton who has lost all sense of where he came from…
He was a cute little button in Breaker High.
Awww…YES, my crush goes not as far as Mickey Mouse Club – didn’t have the channel – but BREAKER HIGH!
My friends called his role “embarrassing” and “annoying”, but I loved that show and his character.
Love him on Breaker High. I am with Stephania, Don’t get the whole Clooney
awww i remember him in breaker high lol, that was so long ago!!, he was SOOOOO adorable. He’s such a great actor , seeing him do his role in breaker high and then watching his movies now, he’s really grown as an actor aswell. I’m so proud he’s Canadian!
I think 2011 is his breakout year… 2012 is gonna be a bigger year for Ryan Gosling. Next up is being voted “Most Sexiest Man” by People magazine, haha.
I think you can rest assured that Ryan Gosling still fits into the “normal person” category. There’s a video of him breaking up a fight in New York City. Sounds pretty noble to me 😉
I looooooove Ryan Gosling!!! He won me over with The Notebook and I will watch anything if he’s in it.
My friend got to shake his hand at TIFF this year!!
Our daughter went to high school with Ryan Gosling. He was just a small young kid back then, but he had soooooooo much confidence in himself! I saw him on stage in a high school production, and we all knew he would go somewhere. We were so happy for him when he got accepted to Disney and moved to the states. Other media have promoted that he was born in London, Ontario but he recently told an interviewer that he was from Cornwall, Ontario! Yay for Cornwall! I don’t live in Cornwall, but I always found it to be a very family-oriented small city, with friendly people and lots of things to do. Cornwall is close to Upper Canada Village, Montreal and Ottawa and is only a couple of hours from Lake Placid, NY. and Mt Tremblant, Quebec. I loved Cornwall!
I recommend people go see “Drive” in theaters, it’s one of the best movies you’ll see all year.
I loved Drive, but it is very minimalist – a lot of people in the theatre were disappointed in it. It isn’t your typical Hollywood movie, for sure.
I don’t know what he’s like now, but he was nice a few years ago.
Mmmm, he is so delish looking! <3
I don’t know if he was born in Cornwall–but spent alot of his youth here– as much as he spent in any one place.. He did a CTV ‘star search’ type appearance–) I think it was called Home Grown Cafe–on the Ottawa CTV (CJOH) –he got ‘spotted’ on that tv show and then he and his mom went to Disney for a time. The local papers always carried little tidbits on his career when he was a ‘teen. Glad to hear he still mentions Cornwall–so many ‘big’ stars are suddenly from L.A.!!!
I saw him on Jay Leno recently & he did mention Cornwall alot, lol
He sure is easy on the eyes & loved him in Notebook with Rachel Adams!
Looking forward to seeing Drive & the other movies he is in! 🙂
Just curious Stephania…have you ever met Gale Harold? He’s always been on my dreamy list. What celebrities have you or other SCs met?
Most violent movie ever
@ Poohbear2973: I LOVE Gale Harold! But nobody ever knows who that is!
Paul Gross is probably my other favourite Canadian actor — though he’s finally lost his baby faced youth and is lookin a little weathered these days… What can I say? The heart wants what it wants… 😀
And yes, Ryan Gosling has edged his way into my top 10. 2011 has definitely revealed his serious acting chops! (Though his abs certainly don’t hurt his chances!)
OMG!!!
i adore him..always checking his news..facebook..pics..
“the notebook” is the best movie
I agree about your points about Gosling being a great actor, but to put him on a pedestal just because he didn’t use dialogue to portray his character is a faulty argument. Vincent Gallo did just as well (arguably, better) in “Essential Killing” (2010), and Pixar did it for the protagonists in “Wall-E” (2008).
And although I am also a huge fan of Gosling, I find it so awkward to read a personal “squeal-fest” post about a celebrity on SmartCanucks. (Just to be clear, I don’t care that this is an off-topic post!) I suggest that go on one’s personal Facebook or Twitter profiles, instead!
Being from Cornwall myself, it’s nice to see him doing so well. i’ve been rooting for him since his Breaker High days! i never knew him, but went to elementary school with one of his cousins who though she was the coolest thing because her cousin was ‘famous’ — he was in the mickey mouse club at the time. lol .. Anway, definitely a fan! just watched Blue Valentine on the weekend and WOW…
Saw him at TIFF this year, was about a metre away from his face. He is super gorgeous when all of the camera lights are flashing on his face! :p
Whats not to like he’s simply amazing been a fan of him for a long time watch Blue Valentine thats a good one of his as well .
I do love him, but I read some article a few days ago that he’s planning to retire… from the acting/ entertainment world i guess (not sure if this is mentioned yet)
I wish Breaker High would come out on DVD.
@jay – Already covered! Have spammed both my FB, Twitter, & blog. This was the last place that I needed to plaster my love for RG!!! 😉
I had the opportunity to meet this man at Fortinos on Burlington where I work last Christmas time. All I can say is I hope I meet him again and that this time I am armed with a better cell camera! XD
I’ve been a fan of Ryan Gosling ever since Breaker High, and right when Breaker High ended I had the absolute pleasure of meeting him. My girlfriend and I were in downtown Vancouver one late night and were walking to the skytrain. We walked past him and instantly I knew it was him and so did my girlfriend. I was all star struck, but thankfully my level-headed and brave girlfriend turned around and ran up to him, asking him if he was Ryan Gosling, lol. I ran up to them and he turned to me with a huge smile on his face and held out his hand. He gave me a very firm handshake and told us how honored he was that he was recognized, and he was quite surprised that anybody even watched Breaker High! He thanked us for stopping to talk to him, we wished him much luck and success and we headed off. Granted, it was before his big celebrity status, but he was not only the nicest celebrity I’ve ever met, but one of the most gracious, polite, confident and friendly people I’ve ever met. You picked a good guy to have a thing for Stephania!! He’s awesome (and so incredibly dreamy) 🙂
My half sister has dated a fair few Canadian and non-Canadian ‘stars’ -she used to be a model, I know, I hate her too 😉 -, currently having a baby with one (no one huge enough to need to live in LA though) and from our experience the ones that do live in LA are the strange ones since they get sucked into that whole world, which really is an alien world full of hate and rejection and a false sense of importance and severe appearance disillusionment (LA must be full of nothing but funhouse mirrors the way they hate themselves).
You can tell a smart celebrity by where they live when they aren’t working. Julia Roberts? Ranch in Arizona. Johnny Depp? France. George Clooney? Italy. Dan Akroyd? Summers in Sydenham where I used to go to school. My friend used to babysit his kids. Very down to earth dude.
New York also has a somewhat humbling effect on stars and a lot of them will live there (as I think Gosling does now? or has he moved to LA now that he is dating Eva Mendes?) instead, since there is this understanding that New Yorkers don’t give a f**k who you are, since they’re both too busy and important to care (but I do love the city, just to live there you have to be tough and try to put on an air of security, and some of them grew up there when that place was a really scary place to live so I give them that).
So I think it depends on how far the star gets sucked into the machine of LA, and I don’t think they’ve managed to get him yet. If he’s as smart as he seems (judging from the notion that he is one of those rare ones who seems to act for the acting rather than just the sheer fame of it) he’ll put roots down outside of funhouse land and be one of the good ones.
But he’s still working his way up to the realm of studios paying people to feed you so you don’t mess up your manicure and blow your nose for you because they know how not to mess up your makeup. These people exist! And many stars get to the point where they think they can’t live without them!
Why do they pay these people more than doctors again?
Haha, whatever, it may be offtopic, but you can always skip over stuff you’re not interested in. He is pretty cute. Thanks for the tips as always.
Whenever I see a post on SmartCanucks that seems totally off-topic or generally ridiculous, I always immediately think, “Oh, Stephania’s at it again!”… and then I scroll down and see I was right. Major eye-rolling at this nonsense waste of space.
LOL Whatevs…
I think the exact same thing!
If you like his acting, watch Lars and the Real Girl, one of the most interesting films I’ve seen, and certainly shows his depth.
I have never gotten the Clooney thing! I don’t get what’s so great about him and never feel compelled to watch one of his movies!
Read laineygossip.com – she LOVES HIM TOO and has met and vouches for his genuine niceness (not to mention good looks)!
I love your off topic posts Stephania, sometimes more than the coupons and offers! Those of you who don’t, just skip over them. I remember a post you did on racism a while back and I found it to be an interesting, enlightening read. So many people commented from different perspectives, with a lot of complexity and sensitivity. Of course I also love Ryan Gosling! Check him out in “Half Nelson”. Another film I just saw where the actor portrays a huge range with his facial expressions is “Buitiful” (sp?) with Javier Bardem (it’s in Spanish, set in Barcelona).This is a great film with excellent acting overall, and some of the actors were amateurs. Bardem is wonderful.
Stick to the point of the blog; I’m a little biased because Gosling’s a complete waste of space as an actor.
Don’t forget Ryan Gosling’s role in the TV series, Young Hercules. That was when he was just beginning to transform into his sexy self.
I love the people who go to all of the trouble to come on here and b*tch about it and the so-called ‘integrity’ of a coupon site and upholding it! COME ON!
It is a BLOG people, they add it in to make it less boring. No one forces you to open and read it! Do you also ensure that you buy from every store mentioned each day to uphold the integrity of the blog? Of course not, if you did you’d need serious help.
If you think it’s a waste of space, why waste your time coming on to say so? Stephania’s job on this site is the opinion pieces, so there really is nothing you can do to stop her. The last time some of you compained so much about a poster on the site we lost the girl who was doing to free printable coupon thread FOREVER. And why? Well because she didn’t update it enough and those lazy losers who don’t want to have to read or think for themselves on here (the very same as we have here, if I’m not mistaken) couldn’t be bothered to look and see when they expired themsleves and so it became the poster’s fault.
Leave people alone and get a life you bullies!
If you see it’s an off topic opinion piece (they have them in newspapers and magazines too, HOW DARE THEY!) why don’t you just not open it and carry on? Those of us who open it want to read it to see if it’s a topic that we want to discuss for fun. So many of you take everything so seriously I seriously picture you as a bunch of miserable people dressed all in grey who mope around both in real life and on the web spreading self-important prattle and leaving indignant huffy comments everywhere. Get over yourselves!
I admit, more than “off topic”, my first thought when I see these kinds of posts is: Random. Well random can be fun. I also say this because (sadly some may say) I have never even heard of this actor. lol.
My son, Brock went to school with Ryan. At Gladstone Public School in Cornwall before Ryan left to join the Mickey Mouse Club. He said he was a really nice kid.
I hope he does well in all of his endeavours.
Just watched him today in “All Things Good” with Kirsten Dunst, good movie, sexy man 🙂