Ryan Thomas Gosling was born in Ontario, Canada, on November 12, 1980. As a child, he watched the 1990 action drama Dick Tracy and was inspired to become an actor. However, Gosling “hated” being a child, was bullied in elementary school, and had no friends until he was 14 or 15. In the first grade, he was heavily influenced by the action film First Blood, and took steak knives to school and threw them at other children during recess, which led to a suspension.

Gaining Confidence Through Performing

Gosling performed in front of audiences from an early age, encouraged by his older sister being a performer. He and his sister sang together at weddings, he performed with his uncle’s Elvis Presley tribute act, Elvis Perry, and he took ballet. Performing boosted Gosling’s self-confidence. Another interesting fact about his childhood growing up in Canada is that he developed an accent to sound like Marlon Brando because he thought having a Canadian accent did not sound “tough.” In 1993, 12-year-old Gosling auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. He was given a two-year contract as a Mouseketeer and moved to Orlando, Florida, joining fellow cast members Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. Gosling has credited the experience with instilling in them “this great sense of focus.”

Following the show’s cancellation in 1995, Gosling returned to Canada, where he continued to appear on television series like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps. Gosling dropped out of high school at 17 to focus on his acting career and a year later, he moved to New Zealand to film Young Hercules as the show’s title character. Following his work on the show, Gosling wanted to transition into film and not accept any more television work. He started out with indie films in the early 2000s before landing the lead in 2004’s The Notebook alongside Rachel McAdams. Since then, Gosling has achieved widespread recognition with films such as Blue Valentine, Drive, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Place Beyond the Pines, La La Land, and Blade Runner 2049.

RELATED: Ryan Gosling Knew He Wanted Kids With Eva Mendes While Filming ‘The Place Beyond The Pines’

Keep scrolling to see how Gosling has glowed up, glowed down, then glowed right back up again over the last 20 years:

• 2001

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  21-year-old Gosling snagged his first lead film role in 2001's 'The Believer.' Director Henry Bean said he cast Gosling because his Mormon upbringing helped him understand the isolation of Judaism as the young Jewish neo-Nazi in the film.Though the film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, it was difficult to secure financial backing for a full theatrical release due to the controversial nature of the film. Gosling described it as "the film that kind of gift-wrapped for me the career that I have now.."

• 2002

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  Looking spicy, Gosling poses with a cigarette in his mouth at the after party for the film premiere of 'Murder by Numbers.' He co-starred with Sandra Bullock and Michael Pitt in the psychological thriller.

• 2004

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  While at 'The Notebook' premiere in 2004, Gosling looked like a little punk-rocker with his suit and skinny black tie and spiky blonde hair. The heartthrob went on to date his co-star Rachel McAdams from 2005 until 2007. He told 'GQ' at the time, "God bless 'The Notebook.' It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life. But people do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that.”
• 2005

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  Every hot actor goes through a shaved head phase, and for fans of hot men, this is a must. Gosling blessed us with this cool look briefly when he attended the Teen Choice Awards that year.

• 2006

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  Unfortunately for men even of Gosling's caliber, the actor hit a rough patch in his glow-up and glowed-down by 2006. He had gained 60 pounds in preparation for his character in 'The Lovely Bones,' but what we really hate about this photo is his choice in a shirt. He really wore a t-shirt with a three-piece suit graphic on it to a film premiere!

• 2007

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  The following year, Gosling's physique pretty much stayed the same, but he shaved his beard down to stubble and kept the really thick mustache, giving major creeper vibes. While wearing this outfit with a vest, Gosling looks weathered in the wake of the end of his Rachel McAdams relationship.
• 2009

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  Two years later, and it looks like Gosling got his groove back. The actor wore a wool blazer over a white t-shirt, accessorized with a gold watch and struck a pose that makes him look confident again. Not quite a fan of the completely bare face, though.

• 2010

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  Following a three-year absence from the screen, Gosling said, "I've never had more energy." Looking fresh-faced and with a heartwarming smile, he wore this dark denim, double-breasted jacket over a plain white tee and brown scarf. He just looks so cute and cozy!

• 2011

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  These were Gosling's peak years in Hollywood. While at the premiere for 'Drive,' he looked extra hunky in this muted blue suit topped with a bow tie. So dapper, so effortless, so Gosling.
• 2012

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  As the only red carpet Gosling and his wife/'The Place Beyond The Pines' co-star have ever attended together, this image needs to be framed and treasured. There is a look in Gosling's eyes that shows how in love he is, but keeps things professional. The gorgeous couple shares two daughters together.

• 2014

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  Two years later, Gosling is glowing and even looks tanner while attending the Cannes Film Festival for his film, 'Lost River.' We love his suit without a tie here, drawing our eyes to his perfect face.

• 2015

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  Wow, Gosling can really make a person swoon when he puts on a suit. While attending the premiere of 'The Big Short,' the actor wore a navy blue suit with a lux-looking tie.
• 2016

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  Petition for Gosling to always wear white-colored suits! The actor has shown up to a few red carpet events wearing white and he very much looks like an angel. This photo of him looking off to the side makes us wonder what or who he is looking at.

• 2017

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  With a balled-up fist looking like he's about to fight, Gosling put on a fun, yet fancy ruffled white shirt with contrast black details while attending the Academy Awards. His suit is tailored to him perfectly, and as usual, his hair is coiffed to the side without a hair out of place.

• 2018

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  Sporting a shorter hair cut, we get to see more of Gosling's face as he attended the premiere for 'First Man.' We like how he opted for a faded blue button down with a design under his black blazer.
• 2022

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  Four years later, Gosling is seen with highlights in his hair following his role as Ken in the 'Barbie' film. The actor wore lots of colorful, fun looks, like this bright teal suit while promoting his spy-action thriller, 'The Gray Man.'

• 2023

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  Long, messy-haired, highlighted Gosling is both adorable and hot. With some stubble and wearing that faded pink zip up sweatshirt, he proves that he can pull of wearing anything and still be so very attractive.

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