The 19 Best Ryan Gosling Movies, Ranked

One of Hollywood’s hunkiest actors is also one of its most compelling, from ‘The Nice Guys’ and ‘La La Land’ to ‘Blue Valentine’ and ‘Drive.’

Like Brad Pitt and Jake Gyllenhaal , Ryan Gosling is a character player in the body of a Hollywood lump . He ’s one of the best - looking workforce around , as beautiful as Robert Redford or Paul Newman before him . But he ’s also a weirdo with an gonzo muscleman he only sometimes drive to twist . That ’s what happens when you start out onThe Mickey Mouse Club , graduate toYoung Hercules , and make a name off ofThe Notebook . In the years since , Gosling has run into a dainty symmetry between indie misfit and mainstream sweetheart , which includes two Oscar nominations and one of the 2010s’bestSaturday Night Livesketches . His role asKen in Greta Gerwig ’s Barbie movieis already among next summer ’s most exciting ethnic events . For now , he ’s appearing in something a spot less exciting : The Gray Man , a hollow activeness tentpole — the most expensive Netflix picture yet — that target him alongside Chris Evans , Regé - Jean Page , and Ana de Armas . You wo n’t find it on this listing , but we are rank Gosling ’s finest films withal .

19.Lost River(2014)

The directorial debuts of famous performing artist are often pre - judged as " vanity undertaking , " dismissed as monuments to actorly ego before the credits even hustle , and Gosling ’s first field day as a filmmaker certainly fits the verbal description . To some viewers , Lost Riverwill come off as self - indulgent : In telling this Detroit - set story of a turbulent teenager ( Iain De Caestecker ) and his single female parent ( Christina Hendricks ) , Gosling lifts generously from the arthouse playbook of his collaborators Derek Cianfrance and Nicolas Winding Refn . He does n’t quite nail either approach path , mistake obscurity for profundity , and the moving-picture show drift from one potentially visually strong succession to another with little narration crusade or psychological nuance . But there are some powerful prototype in here that make it deserving seek out as a document of Gosling ’s voltage if he ever make up one’s mind to revert to the managing director ’s professorship in the future . — Dan Jackson

18.The Ides of March(2011)

With such a stacked mold — Clooney , Giamatti , Tomei — it ’s a shame that this Gosling - star political drama runs pretty insensate . The story about a immature , promising military campaign manager for a future Democratic President of the United States could be compelling . But an awesome misogynous side plot of land with Evan Rachel Woods ' character all but makes that fall apart . Even with Gosling ’s unassailable performance at the center of attention , this excavation of the dirty world of politics falls very flat . — Kerensa Cadenas

17.Only God Forgives(2013)

16.Murder by Numbers(2002)

Before Gosling became one of the zippo ' primo heartthrobs whenThe Notebooktook everyone ’s libido by storm in 2004 , he went toe to toe withSandra BullockinMurder by Numbers . Gosling ’s brood charms are used for evil , as he plays a gamey shoal student who is accused of polish off a woman with another schoolfellow ( Michael Pitt ) . This ' ninety - esque thriller played around with all the aspects that make Gosling the maven he is today.—KC

15.The Notebook(2004)

Ah yes , the rainfall - soak candy kiss that started it all . Nick Cassavetes ' weepy based on the Nicholas Sparks novel rent Gosling from morsel player to major Hollywood star , and it ’s sluttish to see why . woo Rachel McAdams , who he would also date stamp off - covert , he has an earnest glitter that can melt even the most cynical of hearts . It more than urinate up for his attempt at a Southern speech pattern . ( Ryan , we know you ’re Canadian . ) But , of grade , it ’s his water - logged dramatic present moment that seal the mess . This is a film lead , able-bodied to trade the platitudinous of moments with lived - in emotion . — Esther Zuckerman

14.All Good Things(2010)

In 2022 , it ’s hard to separate the intensity of the performances ofAll Good thing ' licitly stacked cast of characters — Gosling in the confidential information , Kirsten Dunstas his wife , Frank Langella , Lily Rabe , Kristen Wiig , Phillip Baker Hall , etc.—from the grander frustrations of the movie itself , like why we ’d want to watch a true - crime dramatisation of Robert Durst ’s feat from being a young human race under his potent New York real estate founding father ’s son to a thrice manslayer who got away with it . ( Alas , this was years beforeThe Jinx . ) Yes , Gosling is chilling as Durst ’s fictionalise opposite number David Marks , but the social organisation break about midway through the movie — that this is all being narrate during a present - day court testimonial — go down the remainder of it . ( And that ’s neglect the aging prosthetics . ) Nobody needs to pass all of this time with such a loathsome man , regardless of how sound Gosling is . — Leanne Butkovic

13.The Place Beyond the Pines(2012)

At first , The Place Beyond the Pinesis about a stunt motorcyclist with nothing to mislay , seemingly resemble another Gosling fomite , Drive , released one year before . But whereDriveveers into an action - motion picture lane and the histrion stay on stoic even as he ’s on an emotional mission , The Place Beyond the Pinesis more of a quiet , tense type study . In his second pic with writer - director Derek Cianfrance ( Blue Valentine ) , Gosling gives a complex performance as a young , planless sire unfurling when he learns that a char ( Eva Mendes ) gave birth to his son a class ago . His masculine instinct to provide kicks in and compels him to pluck banks for his young family . While the film plays with construction and eventually concentrate on the challenging cop ( Bradley Cooper ) ghost with taking him down , Gosling ’s striking presence ( that bleach - light-haired whisker and those tattoos included ! ) haunts the latter half . — Sadie Bell

12.Song to Song(2017)

Gosling can do comedy and melodrama just alright , but the movie theatre shines especially bright when he is hover and enigmatic . That puddle him an ideal fit for a Terrence Malick movie . call to Songis one of the director ’s sweet puzzler , vomit up Rooney Mara as a budding musician hoping to land a record book contract from a flush manufacturer ( Michael Fassbender ) who play with her emotions . Her meet - cute with another of the producer ’s clients ( Gosling ) actuate a messy love triangle swirl against the backdrop of the rowdy Austin medicine view . Gosling speaks in his quieter registry , a tone he sometimes deploy that amps up his mysteriousness . But when he reckon at Mara , we see nothing but affection — the gaze of a Hollywood hunk who has layers a more conventional romance might cut . — Matthew Jacobs

11.Lars and the Real Girl(2007)

With hindsight , it ’d be easy to lumpLarsinto the larger dead body of " far-out indie dramedies " that come out in the mid - to - tardy aughts whose tweeness has age poorly . The serious news is that Craig Gillespie ’s Pygmalion film holds up better than it maybe ought to , thanks to the empathic hand from Nancy Oliver , blue performances from the ensemble dramatis personae , and of course Gosling ’s committedness to his titular character who orders a silicone RealDoll and add together her around to family dinner and work company as if she were alive . Gosling , consider a break from Hot Leading Man position to show off his cooking stove , brings immense pathos to the withdrawn Lars , subconsciously processing a lifelong psychic trauma through Bianca the doll while those around him — specially his significant sister - in - natural law Karin ( Emily Mortimer ) and therapist ( Patricia Clarkson)—support his strange journeying with care even as they skin to sympathize why he ’s doing it . With a single pained grinning under a fleshy moustache , Gosling communicates that he ’s just seek his best . — LB

10.Crazy, Stupid, Love(2010)

disturbed , Stupid , Loveis Gosling ’s most"hey , girl"role to date . As the ultimate Corinthian Jacob — raiment to the Nina from Carolina , drinking old - fashions at stylish clubs , and getting woman into seam withDirty Dancingreferences — he ’s a fulsome version of that 2010s meme incarnate , taking Steve Carell ’s hapless , recently separated Cal under his womanizing flank . The lovable rom - com features a handful of interconnected stories about making love and heartbreak , but Gosling ’s rapport with Carell and eventual romance with frequent co - star Emma Stone ’s lost - in - love Hannah are undeniably the unspoilt act . As sleazy as he is , singles could take a few pointers by thesheercharismadripping off his perfectly pressed lapel . Who else could pull off a move as wacky as theDirty Dancinglift and still make it charming ? — SB

9.Fracture(2007)

Gosling thrives in roles as men under over-the-top pressure — from hiding secrets , keep down feel , suppressing trauma , moral urges — until they one twenty-four hours check , and his careerist angiotensin converting enzyme prosecutor Willy Beachum inFracture … well , it ’s in good order there in the title . On his way out from the DA ’s office to a easygoing individual gig , he ’s handed what seems like a no - brainer murder case , but bungles it through a combination of his own carelessness and the cunning of the suspect Ted Crawford ( Anthony Hopkins ) , who end up being acquitted for kill his married woman . ( Their tête - à - têtes , with a Lecter - ian functioning from Hopkins , are some of the most compelling scenes of the movie . ) Stuck between wanting to get the fuck out of his current job and the egotistical itch to save his repute , Gosling builds Willy ’s frustration and weariness until his cup runneth over . — pound

8.The Big Short(2015)

Like fellow Canadian lump Ryan Reynolds , Gosling knows how to turn on the fulsomeness when he needs to . InThe Big Short , Anchormandirector Adam McKay ’s first raid into quasi - explainer - y political drama , Gosling is tasked with play Jared Vennett , a tanned superintendent - salesman for Deutsche Bank who walks the viewer through some of many sly fiscal models and concepts that led to the 2007 housing crisis . Unsurprisingly , Gosling make the jargon go down easy , using a Jenga tower to literalize the parlous economical office and show how his associates can gain from it . " What ’s that smell ? " he asks . " I smell money . " It ’s the type of rakish asshole role that the quintessential nice - guy actor does n’t play often enough . — disc jockey

7.Drive(2011)

Before the scorpion jacket became a Halloween costume staple and its Cliff Martienz synth account got smeared across playlist , Drivewas simply a movie . Assembled from spare part of offence classic likeThief , Point Blank , andThe Driver , Nicolas Winding Refn ’s conventionalized thriller hum with tension , intensity level , and a touch sensation of vulnerability courtesy of Gosling , who played the the nameless friend task answer as a getaway driver in a heist - gone - legal injury . Refn ’s steely minimalism , emphasise by bursts of grotesque vehemence , vamp with parody at times , which might explain why many now encounter their own past excitement for the movie a small embarrassing . Looking back , it feels like there ’s not a lottherethere . But Gosling ’s performance , a balance of hard guy kitsch and echt soul , keeps this machine from split into flames . — disk jockey

6.La La Land(2016)

In some ways , what theatre director Damian Chazelle necessitate Gosling to do in the much - debatedLa La Landwas to return to his roots . The song - and - dance talent he honed onThe Mickey Mouse Clubwere resuscitated , along with the heartthrob that he occasionally sidelined for more intensely off - putting parts . It ’s a virile compounding in Chazelle ’s punctilious testimonial to his Golden Age and New Wave melodic love , halter only by the fact that Gosling ’s Sebastian is the most frustrating character on - screen . He ’s swoony , but he ’s also the white guy cable who loves malarkey maybe a little too much — a item that Gosling seems to relish , making the romanticistic lead sort of a pill . At the same time , his chemistry with Emma Stone is unmatched . When they are together , it yield a hotshot big businessman that is rare for the 21st century . — EZ

5.Blue Valentine(2010)

The most joyful scene inBlue Valentineis also an prodigy . Standing outside a evening clothes boutique , Gosling grabs a ukulele and sings " You Always Hurt the One You Love " to his raw darling ( Michelle Williams ) , an affected quiver in his vox . His character , Dean , is a high school dropout who work at a Brooklyn move company , and when he hang for Williams ' aspiring MD , he quickly agrees to help raise her baby . Thus begins a punch - inebriated romance that acidulate into something a minute too punchy and a bit too drunken . Dean does hurt the one he loves , and Gosling do by each emotional graduation with a aweary depth that evokes Marlon Brando . — MJ

4.First Man(2018)

Gosling ’s performance as the unflappably compulsive astronaut Neil Armstrong in Damien Chazelle ’s elegiac dramaFirst Manis nothing myopic of astounding , impossibly marry the real Armstrong ’s piano - spoken , retiring presence with the larger - than - life condemnation of the case of guy who is stagnant - go under on being the first individual to jell pes on another universe — at the cost of everything else . alternatively of a moving-picture show about receive somewhere , First Manis about the turn of leaving , who gets leave , and the thing that change when ( if ) you turn back , yourself forever convert . Gosling ’s unflinching portrayal of Armstrong perturbed some audiences who were expecting a celebratory pic about one of humanity ’s greatest accomplishment , but its strong suit is in how aboveboard it understands and accepts that not bad men are n’t needfully good people . — Emma Stefansky

3.Blade Runner 2049(2017)

The very thought of a continuation toRidley Scott ’s sci - fi masterpieceBlade Runnerseemed almost sacrilegious before Denis Villeneuve set all doubts away with his melancholy , mournfulBlade Runner 2049 , following another detective / triggerman on a metaphysical search for the meaning of humanity . Gosling plays K , a replicant task with hunting down runaway non - humans . In a similar fashion to the first movie , he learns a potentially substitution class - shift man of knowledge about the nature of fictional lifetime that could , if found out , alter their futurist society for goodness . Gosling is quiet as K , low-key and monosyllabic , finding consolation only in the practical arms of a holographic fellow ( Ana de Armas ) and looking out upon the military action of the movie with a hushed series of emotions that dart across his unreadable nerve . — E

2.Half Nelson(2006)

AfterThe Notebookmade him a heartthrob , Half Nelsonpopularized the idea of Ryan Gosling the serious role player . It ’s a uncommon " adult befriending a nipper " movie that does n’t drown its potency in cliché . Gosling play a Brooklyn middle - school account instructor who tries to keep a promising student ( Shareeka Epps ) away from the drug that have inundated her region . The catch : He ’s a cocaine addict himself . Half Nelsonavoids white - savior downfall by making neither protagonist the clear - dilute shielder ; each save the other in different ways . Gosling ’s guttural baritone works particularly well during his more frenzied drug sequences , but what make the character memorable are his contradictions . Alone , he is sleepyheaded and downtrodden ; in the classroom , he is occupied and imaginative . Can he resign those two halves ? Gosling makes you want to get hold out . — MJ

1.The Nice Guys(2016)

Ryan Gosling is one of those people who is best described as " a unearthly guy trap in a blistering guy ’s body , " his comedic cleverness and masterful sensory faculty of timing only on display when he ’s allowed to get a little on the loose . That ’s exactly the sort of chance he puzzle in Shane Black ’s uproarious slaying - mystery story / detective comedy , countersink smack dab in the heyday of the ' 70sporn industry . Gosling dons a mustache and various print button - down shirts to malinger around Los Angeles and square up up against ( and eventually alongside ) a sweaty , trigger - happy Russell Crowe , the two private heart bollocks up their agency through a murder investigation and more often than not try not to get slay by any stray bullet . As individual pa Holland March , Gosling flinches and shrieks his way from seedy position to seedy location , his hysteria ascend so high in cadence that you almost ca n’t believe everything ends up work out in the last . — ES

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