Ryan Gosling is one of the most popular and beloved actors of our time. Incredibly cool and attractive, Gosling has made himself a household name thanks to his looks, performances, and amazing filmography which includes some of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies of the past two decades.

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Everyone knows who Ryan Gosling is, and everyone knows his movies. But do people actually know the man himself? Gosling has led a very interesting life, and his personal life is filled with many hilarious and interesting anecdotes. It's hard to know such a private man, but the glimpses he's provided are endlessly fascinating.

He Was Raised Mormon

The Driver standing in a hallway in Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive

Ryan Gosling grew up in Canada, and he was raised in a Mormon family. In an interview with Beliefnet, Gosling stated, "I grew up Mormon. I wasn't really Mormon, my parents were. I never really could identify with it. There's good things about going to church. [Being Mormon] socialized me at a young age." His mother was particularly interested in the church, with Gosling telling The Guardian, "We were brought up pretty religious. My mother admits it: She says, you were raised by a religious zealot. She's different now, but at the time, it was a part of everything."

He Was A Lonely Child

Ryan Gosling as Officer K in Blade Runner 2049

Gosling's father was a traveling salesman, which often resulted in the Gosling family moving from place to place. While they remained in Ontario, Canada, this sense of instability resulted in a somewhat lonely childhood for Gosling. He was pulled out of school at ten years old and was briefly homeschooled by his mother, and even though he was eventually placed back in the school system, he struggled to fit in and struggled to make friends until he was fifteen years old.

He Once Threw Steak Knives At His Fellow Students

Ryan Gosling Drive

Perhaps the funniest and most shocking story involving Ryan Gosling sees him mirroring Rambo and throwing steak knives at children. According to The National Post, Gosling was inspired to emulate Rambo after watching First Blood as a child. Wishing to be like the fictional character, Gosling took steak knives to school and threw them at other kids during recess. In Gosling's own words, "I was suspended. And my parents were terrified. They thought, ‘We can’t let him watch movies that are too violent.’"

He Required Special Education

Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid, Love

By his own personal account, Ryan Gosling was not a good student. Aside from the fact that he took steak knives to school and threw them at his fellow classmates, Gosling also performed poorly on his report cards.

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As he told GQ, " I was doing very badly in school, and I just couldn't remember what the teachers were talking about. I felt like it looked easier for everyone else and it was harder for me. It affected my self-worth." He also remembers his time in special education, saying, "I mean, they started feathering me into some special education classes and things like that."

He Worked Security For His Elvis-Impersonating Uncle

young Ryan Gosling 2002

Gosling has certainly lived an eventful life - and that includes working security for an Elvis tribute act as a child. During an interview for the appropriately-titled Interview Magazine, Gosling stated, "I was 8 and my sister was 12. My uncle was an Elvis impersonator—his name was Perry, and he went by “Elvis Perry”—and my work as a wedding singer landed me a spot in his act." When asked to explain further, Gosling explained that he worked security - a job that involved "[handing his uncle] new scarves, and...mak[ing] sure that the ladies didn’t get too hands-y."

He Modeled His Accent After Marlon Brando

Ryan Gosling EW First Man Photo Header

Gosling certainly has a unique way of speaking. As it turns out, this is not his natural accent. During an interview with W magazine in 2010, Gosling stated his belief that the Canadian accent didn't sound "tough". Wanting to sound tough as a teenager, he literally changed the way he spoke by mirroring the speech patterns of Marlon Brando. It's unclear if this is the same accent he has today, but it's a funny story nevertheless.

He Is A High School Dropout

young hercules ryan gosling

Like many famous people with incredible talent, Ryan Gosling is a high school dropout. Gosling attended numerous high schools throughout his teenage years, including Cornwall, Ontario's Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School and Burlington, Ontario's Lester B. Pearson High School.

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It was here that Gosling dropped out at 17 years old to pursue acting full time. The following year, Gosling moved out to New Zealand and found work on the Fox Kids Network program Young Hercules.

He Once Lived With Justin Timberlake

Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake

While they no longer keep in touch, Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake were great friends as children. So much so that Timberlake's mother actually became the legal guardian of Gosling. For a time, at least. Both Gosling and Timberlake starred together on The Mickey Mouse Club, and Timberlake's mother took in Gosling after his mother returned to Canada. As Timberlake explains, "His mother had to keep her job in Canada the second year that we were on the television show. We were probably a little closer that the rest of the kids that were on the show just because we had to share a bathroom."

He Owns A Moroccan Restaurant In L.A.

Ryan Gosling in The Big Short

Gosling currently owns a Moroccan restaurant in Beverly Hills by the name of Tagine. The restaurant is quite high class, and according to Morocco World News, it's "where A-list celebrities meet for a plate of Moroccan delicacies." Gosling and the co-owner, chef Abdessamad Benameur, started planning the restaurant all the way back in 2004, and it has reportedly hosted the likes of Richard Gere, Salma Hayek, and Keanu Reeves, among many others.

He Broke Through By Playing A Neo-Nazi

Gosling The Believer

After working on the likes of Young Hercules, Gosling finally earned his major movie breakthrough by playing a Neo Nazi in the 2001 drama The Believer. Gosling plays a Jewish man turned Neo-Nazi named Danny Balint, and he starred opposite Billy Zane as Curtis Zampf, the leader of a fascist group. The Believer took home the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and helped make Gosling a star. It was his first "serious" adult role, and three years later he starred as Noah Calhoun in the enormously popular The Notebook.

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