Celebrity Spotlight: Ryan Gosling

Ryan was born in London, Ontario at the same hospital as his current girlfriend, Rachael McAdams. He, along with his older sister Mandi, was raised as a strict Mormon by parents Thomas and Donna.

Ryan got his first taste of stardom after he auditioned for, and made, the cast of The Mickey Mouse Club in 1993. During his time on MMC, Ryan lived with co-star Justin Timberlake and his family.

Since his stint on The Mickey Mouse Club, Ryan has not received any formal acting training. However, he has navigated some intense and complicated roles with relative ease, appearing on TV in Young Hercules and Breaker High, as well as on the big screen in The Slaughter Rule, Murder by Numbers, Remember the Titans, Believer, the Notebook, and most recently (and notably), Half Nelson.

Ryan has developed a reputation for throwing himself into the roles he plays. He first commanded respect from critics in Believer, a film that required him to play an obsessive Jewish man, Danny, who turned to anti-Semitism to escape his inner torment. For his part in Believer, Gosling won the Best Male Lead at the 2002 Independent Spirit Awards and the Golden Aires Award from the Russian Guild of Film Critics.

Ryan most recently received a Best Actor nomination from the Academy for his role in Half Nelson, in which he plays an inner-city teacher with a drug problem. We all saw him (with his little bald head) arriving at the awards with his mother and sister. His choice of date caused some speculation about the status of his relationship with McAdams, but we have been assured that the "Best Kiss" couple is alive and well.

Keep reading after the jump for more juicy facts on Ryan!