Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor, musician, and producer. He began his career as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club (1993–95) and went on to appear in other family entertainment programs including Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1995) and Goosebumps (1996). He starred in the television series Breaker High (1997–98) as Sean Hanlon and Young Hercules (1998–99) as the title role. His first starring role was as a Jewish neo-Nazi in The Believer (2001), and he then built a reputation for starring in independent films such as Murder by Numbers (2002), The Slaughter Rule (2002), and The United States of Leland (2003).

Gosling came to the attention of a wider audience in 2004 with a leading role in the romantic drama The Notebook, for which he won four Teen Choice Awards and an MTV Movie Award. His performance as a drug-addicted teacher in Half Nelson (2006) was nominated for an Academy Award and his performance as a socially inept loner in Lars and the Real Girl (2007) was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Also in 2007, he starred in the courtroom thriller Fracture. After a three-year acting hiatus, Gosling starred in Blue Valentine, earning him a second Golden Globe nomination. 2011 proved to be a landmark year for Gosling as he co-starred in three mainstream films – the romantic comedy-drama Crazy, Stupid, Love, the political drama The Ides of March and the action thriller Drive – and received two Golden Globe nominations. In 2013, he starred in the crime thriller Gangster Squad, the generational drama The Place Beyond the Pines, and the violent revenge film Only God Forgives. His directorial debut Lost River was released in 2014. In 2015, he joined an ensemble cast for the financial drama The Big Short.

Gosling's band, Dead Man's Bones, released their self-titled debut album and toured North America in 2009. He is a co-owner of Tagine, a Moroccan restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. He is a supporter of PETA, Invisible Children and the Enough Project and has travelled to Chad, Uganda and eastern Congo to raise awareness about conflicts in the regions.