Ryan Gosling Biography
A tall, lanky actor who began his career as a singer, Ryan Gosling steadily amassed an impressive resume in film and TV before finally breaking through with a powerful performance as a Jewish neo-Nazi in the based-on-fact "The Believer" (2001), the Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival.
Born in Ontario, Canada, Gosling began his showbiz career performing with his older sister at local talent shows. After beating out some 17,000 other aspirants, he was selected to join the 1990s Disney Channel revival of the "Mickey Mouse Club" in 1993, joining a cast that included future singing superstars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez of *NSYNC, as well as Keri Russell of TV's "Felicity". By the time his last episodes aired in 1996 -- he spent two years taping episodes that aired over a four-year period -- Gosling could be seen in the story of preteen who tries to bring the Creature back to life in "Frankenstein and Me" (Disney Channel). That same year, he delivered a well-received turn as a British foundling in an episode of "The Road to Avonlea" (aired in the USA on Disney Channel), which brought him a Gemini Award nomination.
In 1997. Gosling was tapped to play the smooth-talking hypochondriac Sean Hanlon in "Breaker High" (USA Network, 1997-98), a half-hour series about a high school set on a cruise ship. His goofy charm and attractive looks earned him status as a teen pin-up which was further enhanced by casting as "Young Hercules" (Fox, 1998-99), a sort of prequel to the popular series featuring Kevin Sorbo.