Hey Girl, We’ve Got More Ryan Gosling Movies Than You Can Handle — Check Out Our Guide

The Slaughter Rule (2002)

Shortly after his father has died, Roy Chutney (Ryan) is cut from the high school football team, and along with it goes his dreams of escape from his home town. But then he's recruited to a six-man football squad that could hold the key to his future.

Murder by Numbers (2002)

Ryan and Michael Pitt play Richard Haywood and Justin Pendleton, a pair of gifted high school students who execute what they believe to be a "perfect" murder — until they find themselves involved in an intellectual game of cat and mouse with Sandra Bullock's Det. Cassie Mayweather.

The United States of Leland (2003)

Having murdered a mentally disabled boy, Leland Fitzgerald (Ryan) gets out of juvenile detention and finds that he must deal with the impact his crime has had on his family and the town he lives in as a whole.

The Notebook (2004)

The setting is South Carolina in the 1940s, when a rich girl named Allie (Rachel McAdams) finds herself drawn to poor mill worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan). He, in turn, fills her with a sense of freedom that she's never had before — despite the differences in their social status. Kind of sounds like Titanic, but, you know, without the big boat or the iceberg. Ryan describes Noah's transformation from "a really simple guy from Seabrook who meets Allie, who is from Charleston and quite upper class. She comes to Seabrook for the summer, and their worlds immediately and profoundly change. In the beginning of the film, everything is an option and full of opportunities, and throughout the course of the film there's a loss of innocence. Even more than that, there is a loss of many lives, and ideals, and hopes. But with all of that, one thing remains true to him, which is a feeling he had one summer when he was nineteen and Allie came to Seabrook and changed his world."

Stay (2005)

A psychiatrist (Ewan McGregor) finds his life turned upside down when he takes on new patient Henry Letham (Ryan), who claims to be suicidal.

* Half Nelson+* (2006)

Dan Dunne (Ryan) is a young inner-city junior high school teacher whose ideals are challenged in the face of reality. Yet somehow, in the confines of his shabby Brooklyn classroom, he somehow finds the energy to inspire his 13 and 14-year-old students to examine everything from civil rights to the Civil War with a new enthusiasm. Ultimately his goal is to get these kids to think for themselves.

Ryan took his role so seriously, that he was determined to build his performance from the ground up. He moved to New York over a month before shooting was scheduled to start and immersed himself in the life of his character. He lived in a small sublet apartment in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn and spent time in a junior high school classroom, shadowing 8th grade teacher David Easton to prepare for his role. Easton taught with the kind of passion that Ryan hoped to capture in his character, and observing his class was even more useful than he had hoped.

Fracture (2007)

An attorney (Ryan), intent on climbing the career ladder toward success, finds an unlikely opponent in a manipulative criminal (Anthony Hopkins) he is trying to prosecute. Ryan points out that an actor’s reaction to any script depends heavily on their frame of mind at the time they read it. “I was living in a tent for two months, so when I talked to Greg Hoblit from my tent, it definitely sounded interesting,” he laughs. “But I honestly wasn’t sure what I could bring to the table. I just knew it was something I should do. I liked the suspense, I liked that I couldn’t figure it out when I first read it, and I liked that Anthony Hopkins was playing Crawford. It’s not everyday you get to work with one of your heroes.”

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

A delusional young man (do we need to point out who plays him?) strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet. “The film has a lot of affection for its characters and for people in general,” raves he who we did not name. “It believes people want to do the right thing; they want to be part of something good. In so many films, the overriding idea is that people will ruin everything; that if we get our hands on something special we’ll destroy it. This film doesn’t believe that. And I admire Lars. Even though he is a very lonely person, he doesn’t make a choice to be loved; he makes a choice to love something. I like the idea that you can love something and it doesn’t necessarily have to love you back. It doesn’t need to be a transaction; you can just give.”

All Good Things (2010)

Following mounting pressure from his father (Frank Langella) to join the business that made his family rich, David Marks (Ryan) finds the strain impacting his marriage with the much-poorer Katie (Kirsten Dunst). When she mysteriously disappears, suspicion falls on him. Based on a true story.

Blue Valentine (2010)

A unique means at looking at the changing relationship over the years between a husband and wife (Ryan and Michelle Williams) by intercutting between different time periods.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Steve Carell is a middle-aged man who, suddenly finds himself divorced, begins taking dating advice from new friend Jacob (Ryan). "He's really kind of a jackass," says Ryan of Jacob. "A knucklehead with a heart of gold who has this sort of twisted wisdom he thinks he should pass on. So I watched this TV show about a pick-up artist and read a couple of books about foolproof strategies for hitting on women. They are kind of terrifying, but I did manage to get some
inspiration from them for Jacob."

Drive (2011)

A Hollywood stunt performer (Ryan), who moonlights as a wheelman, discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong. Ryan was attracted to the script, because it had a "very strong character" at its core as well as a powerful love story. The actor had always been interested in doing an action-type movie, but often found today's films to focus more on the stunts than on its characters. He was able to choose the director, which was a first for him: "And I thought 'It had to be Nicolas (Refn). There was no other choice."

The Ides of March (2011)

Ryan is Stephen Meyers, an idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate (George Clooney's Mike Morris) who gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail. "It was not only the character that drew me in," he says, "but also the chance to work with George Clooney. Our characters are all here, because we believe in Morris, and we believe in his campaign. I think that all of us as actors are here because we believe in George, and we believe in his campaign, which is this film."

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

Offers up the official synopsis of the film: "In upstate New York, two men (Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper), and later, their sons (Dane DeHaan, Emory Cohen) must deal with the unforeseen consequences of their actions." The movie's director, Derek Clanfrance, says of Ryan's character, "A number of years ago when Ryan Gosling and I were preparing Blue Valentine, it came up that there was this fantasy Ryan always had — robbing a bank, on a motorcycle, and then making a very specific getaway. I said, 'You've got to be kidding me, I'm writing that movie right now!' He said, 'I'm in!' We had both imagined it in an identical way. That was one of several moments when I knew Ryan and I were meant to make more than one film together."

Gangster Squad (2013)

In 1949, corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department is at an all-time high, with many of the cops answering to mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). To fight back (eventually), Sgts. John O'Mara and Jerry Wooters (played respectively by Josh Brolin and Ryan) decide to form an elite squad. Explains Ryan, "Up till now, O'Mara's been banging his head against a wall, getting knocked around and arresting guys who get out just hours later, while my character looks on from a barstool on the sidelines. Jerry also came back from the war to find the whole town underwater, but, as he says in the film, O'Mara picked up a bucket while he picked up a bathing suit." Which is why Wooters initially turns O'Mara down. "He's not trying to be a hero," the actor continues. "He doesn't have any fantasies about that. I think he feels like he did his fighting overseas, and there's so much corruption here, it seems pointless. He's just trying to stay above it, and stay alive."

Only God Forgives (2013)

Things are already pretty complicated for Julian (Ryan), a drug-smuggler who's making a hell of a life for himself in Bangkok's criminal underworld. But things get worse when his mother insists that he track down and takes vengeance against those who killed his brother.

The Big Short (2015)

Based on a true story, four denizens in the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight. One of them is slick Deutsche Bank dealmaker Jared Venett, played by Ryan, who explains, "The inspiration that made me want to be part of this film came from the way it treats the audience as smart people. So much Wall Street terminology is designed to take advantage of consumers. The way director Adam McKay tells this story helps you understand what really happened."

The Nice Guys (2016)

The time is the 1970s. The place: Los Angeles. Ryan and Russell Crowe play a pair of privates eyes who take on the assignment of the mysterious death of a porn star and a missing girl. It's pretty much one of those buddy-cop films where the two guys definitely ain't buddies, but they're able to put their differences aside and work together…eventually. Written and directed by Lethal Weapon creator Shane Black. Says Ryan, "Shane creates these worlds that have their own tone, slightly surreal but rooted in reality. And his characters are heightened, but somehow you feel like you know them. On a fundamental level, The Nice Guys is a detective story, but Shane is able to subvert it. You think you're going to go right, and he takes you left. The script doesn't take itself too seriously…I mean the characters do, but that's what's ridiculous about them. I think that's also what makes you root for March and Healy — because they want to be, or are pretending to be, more than they are."

La La Land (2016)

While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist (Sebastian, played by Ryan) and an actress (Mia, played by Emma Stone) fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future, singing and dancing their way through it all. As Ryan explains it, he had a long-held affection for movie musicals that came into play the minute he came aboard. He says, “I was really intrigued by the fact that director Damien Chazelle wanted to make a film in the style of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly eras, because those are the musicals that move me. The fact that he wanted to have that kind of aesthetic and spirit of playfulness was fantastic, because it was also a secret wish of mine to make a film like that."

Equally attractive was the idea of playing a character who worshipped with his very being an art form that seems to be dying on the vine of a ruthlessly fast-changing pop culture. "Sebastian has dedicated his life to being a great jazz pianist, but in his mind the world around him is saying those days are over. His heroes were born 70 years ago, and in this day and age, a great piano player playing real jazz is destined to work in bars where people don't even stop their conversations to listen to you. So how much do you compromise to be the artist you want to be? I think Sebastian is struggling with the difference between being a purist and being a snob. Ultimately, he faces a question lots of creative people are faced with at some point in life: do I keep pursuing this work that actually nourishes me or do I have to accept that this is just a job and I have to pay my bills? Then he meets Mia, and it's easier for him to get on board with Mia's dream than it is with his own. He just thinks Mia needs to create her own opportunities and stop waiting for people to give her permission to do what she loves to do."

Song to Song (2017)

Says Broad Green Pictures, "Set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) and BV (Ryan), and music mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) and the waitress (Natalie Portman) whom he ensnares — chase success through a rock 'n' roll landscape of seduction and betrayal."

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

In this sequel to 1982's future-set Blade Runner, Officer K (Ryan), a new Blade Runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former Blade Runner who's been missing for 30 years. Ryan, who plays K, explains, "The original film is haunting; it's hard to shake. It asks you to look at your idea of what it means to be human, and it makes you weigh your ability to recognize the hero from the villain. It's a nightmarish vision of the future that's somehow grounded and feels possible, and yet it's presented in this romantic, dreamlike way that sticks with you. Time has proven its specialness. From my first conversation with director Denis Villeneuve, I immediately felt confident. All of his instincts were about grounding the film…making it feel truthful. He had a great respect for the original, but he never seemed to allow it to intimidate him. He used his admiration and turned it into inspiration, and I think, in turn, he inspired all of us to do the same."

First Man (2018)

In this biopic, Ryan plays Neil Armstrong, the first human being to walk on the surface of the moon back on July 20, 1969. It's based on the best-selling book, and marks the reteaming of Ryan with La La Land director Damien Chazelle.