Ryan Gosling is a Canadian treasure actor that you probably have to be living under a rock these days to be unfamiliar with. He was a child actor from my generation, so I grew up watching him pop in and out of teen-focused fluff, but it wasn’t really until his breakout role as Noah in The Notebook (2004) that he successfully graduated from teen heartthrob roles to A-List Movie Star. Since then he’s had a steady career of playing lovable ruffians or badass men of action. Gosling’s recent turn as Ken in Barbie (2023) just further cemented his cred as one of Hollywood’s most bankable male leads. But what has he done in the realm of historical flicks? Let’s take a look!
Road to Avonlea (1990-98)
Ryan Gosling was cast as Bret McNulty, an English orphan, in the final season of this Canadian classic miniseries loosely adapted from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables novels and Montgomery’s own memoirs.
Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (1998)
Set in British Columbia in the 1940s and about a trio of young adults that are set on establishing the world’s largest cattle ranch at that time. Ryan Gosling plays Tommy, one of the supporting characters.
Young Hercules (1998-99)
My recollection of this show was that it was basically Xena: Warrior Princess for bros. I should watch it again for Snark Week.
The Notebook (2004)
The Millennial Generation’s first true romantic drama. I can’t underscore how much people flipped their shit for this movie when it came out. My take on it was, “Pretty, but whatever.” The bulk of the story is told in flashbacks to the 1940s when the main characters were young.
All Good Things (2010)
Set in 1970s-80s, Ryan Gosling plays David Marks, who is accused of murdering his wife in 1982, along with a string of other murders. It’s loosely based on Robert Durst’s life.
Drunk History: Drunk History Christmas (2011)
Gangster Squad (2013)
Mobster biopic of Mickey Cohen, set in 1949 L.A. Ryan Gosling plays Sgt. Jerry Wooters, one of the cops tasked with taking down Cohen’s crime empire.
The Nice Guys (2016)
One of my top favorite films of all time, and hardly anyone has seen it. Do yourself a favor and give it a watch. Both Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are hilarious in it and the film itself is a fun romp of a murder mystery set in 1970s Los Angeles, with some spectacular Mid Century architecture and interior design.
Do you want to see Ryan Gosling do more period film roles? Tell us in the comments!
He also did First Man in 2018 playing Neil Armstrong. It’s about his earlier life, ending with the moon landing in 1969.
I decided to post in the article after seeing mention of ‘Baby Ryan Gosling as ENGLISH orphan’ (My immediate response was “How hilariously cheesy is the accent of which we speak? Are we talking EASTENDERS or full blown Dick Van Dyke?”), but seeing THE NICE GUYS praised to the skies by a fellow fan is almost as delightful as it is depressing to learn that such an excellent comedy never found it’s audience.
One might say I dream of a sequel (Probably set in AD 1980s LA, at this point) but in all honesty it’s very, very difficult to imagine them capturing lighting in the bottle the way THE NICE GUYS managed to.
Oh, and for the record I can never, ever imagine the late Mrs Holland March NOT being played by Kate Winslet (If only so we can hear her deliver the immortal words ‘Rumptey-pumptey’).
Love the rhetorical question at the end of the post :))
Young Hercules was a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (which Xena: Warrior Princess was also a spin-off of, although Xena remains the superior show, in particular because unlike Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless continues to be awesome). Young Hercules also introduced me to a very young Dean O’Gorman as a teen version of Michael Hurst’s character Iolaus so there’s that.
Gosling also had a small part in the 1971 set Remember the Titans, though if I have to pick a film he did set in the 1970s, it’s going to be The Nice Guys every time.
The Nice Guys is an absolute gem of a film and endlessly quotable!
“You can’t even say Baryshnikov!”
Glad to see some love for it here.
MUCH LOVE, Al Don.
Oh, dear!!! I’ve wanted to rewatch Anne of Avonlea for quite some time. I LOVED that series as a kid and have been reticent to rewatch in case it didn’t hold up. But now, I’ve been nudged actually to go ahead and re-watch it. Fellow, “meh” observer of The Notebook and fellow LOVER of The Nice Guys!!!! That movie deserves SO MUCH MORE LOVE than it received. Like someone else said, Ryan Gosling was also in Remember the Titans, which took place in the 70s. Also, I’m highly in favor of a Young Hercules Snark Week takedown!!!