Ryan Gosling's Career In Pictures

by Helen Earnshaw | 8 April 2013

The Place Beyond The Pines

Re-teaming with Derek Cianfrance, Gosling stars in The Place Beyond The Pines (released 10th April) as Luke Glanton, a stuntman driver whose life is rocked by the realisation he’s a father.

Attempting to make good with his new-found responsibility, it isn’t long before Luke embroils himself in bank robberies.

Commanding the screen whenever he’s on it, it is Gosling’s responsibility to set the tone for this epic that spans a generation, delivering an affecting performance that could rival many of his past performances as the best yet.

Below we take a look at a collection of these past performances...

Murder by Numbers (2002)

Sandra Bullock stars as homicide detective Cassie Mayweather, a crime scene specialist on the trail of two high school students, Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) and Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt), who may have committed the perfect crime.

The students believe that with Richard's cunning nature and Justin's intellect they have created the "perfect" criminal mind and can elude the law at will.

The Notebook (2004)

With a number of small roles in numerous films before it, 2004 weepy The Notebook is the one that launched Gosling from bit-part support to leading heartthrob status.

As Noah, we see Gosling fall deeply in love with Rachel McAdams’ Allie, showcasing the Ryan Gosling passion and charm present in cinema today (in a standout scene, he invites Allie out on a date, wittily threatening to jump off a Ferris wheel if she declines.)

Half Nelson (2006)

The role which first recognised Gosling as the acting sensation he has since become, Half Nelson saw him become a Best Actor Oscar nominee (he lost out to Forest Whittaker for The Last King of Scotland.)

An adult About a Boy, the film sees Gosling’s teacher form a friendship with a young student following her discovery that he has a drug addiction.

Fracture (2007)

Young district attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) is a on his way to the top with only one last case standing in his way: a mysterious engineer (Anthony Hopkins) found innocent on a technicality of his wife's (Embeth Davidtz) murder.

In a thriller laden with twists and turns that weave both in and out of the courtroom, the pair becomes entangled in a risky cat-and-mouse game with fatal consequences.

Blue Valentine (2010)

Gosling stars alongside Michelle Williams as a married couple in Derek Cianfrance’s debut Blue Valentine; the film begins by revealing how their love bloomed, before showing the marriage breakdown five years on.

A serious role more in the light of Half Nelson than The Notebook, Ryan Gosling proves he is not simply a one-trick pony, but an actor who can deliver a performance with heartbreaking heft.

The Ides of March (2011)

Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is an idealist who's brilliant at communications, is second in command of Governor Mike Morris's presidential campaign, and is a true believer.

However, he gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail. What's most important, career, victory, or virtue?

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

A lighter role, Gosling’s performance in Crazy, Stupid, Love reflected his fun side.

Here he plays Jacob, a schmoozer who takes it upon himself to reinvent Steve Carrel from depressed divorcee to ladies man. However, the player becomes enamoured upon meeting Emma Stone’s Anna.

This comedy of errors is charming and the chemistry between Gosling and Stone (who were reunited in 2012’s Gangster Squad) is a real highlight.

Drive (2011)

Ryan Gosling’s lead role as the unnamed driver in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Cannes-pleaser Drive is a once in a lifetime; his performance is what defines the film.

All suave-silences and erratic-violence, he meanders his way through the film doing his best James Dean, fit with scorpion-emblazoned jacket and charming Carey Mulligan’s (literal) girl-next-door in the process.

He’ll re-team with Winding Refn later this year for the Bangkok-set Only God Forgives.