Ryan Gosling's musical history: a timeline

This feature was originally published Sept. 8, 2016, and updated July 21, 2023.

Ryan Gosling is an Oscar-nominated actor, but don't be surprised if he scores a Grammy Award one day. 

The Canadian actor is no stranger to being a musician, both on and off-screen. In fact, Gosling has quite the extensive musical history dating all the way back to his early days coming up in the show biz alongside pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

To gear up for Gosling's upcoming film Barbie, where he plays Ken (who gets his own musical number aptly titled "Just Ken"), let's revisit all the times Gosling has wowed us not with his acting or charm, but instead with his beautiful skills in music and live performance.

Childhood talent shows (early '90s)

It was clear at a very young age that Gosling was a talented singer and dancer. He would show off these skills at local talent shows, like the one seen below where he's performing to Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog." 

Mickey Mouse Club (1993-1994)

At the age of 12, Gosling was recruited as a Mouseketeer on the Disney Channel's The Mickey Mouse Club alongside other notable up-and-comers including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez. On the show, Gosling honed in on his skills in singing, dancing and acting. From the looks of the clip below, Gosling could've had a very promising career in a boy band but alas, he followed up his Mickey Mouse Club stint with roles on a number of Canadian television shows including Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Breaker High.

Fun fact: Gosling and Timberlake lived together during this time because Timberlake's mom was temporarily Gosling's guardian in the U.S., while Gosling's mother stayed in Canada to work.

Interim years

Gosling spent most of the early 2000s focusing on building his acting portfolio, with breakout roles in The Notebook and Half Nelson, the latter scoring him an Oscar nomination for best actor. It appeared that Gosling never let go of his love of music, though, dabbling in playing and performing, as seen in this YouTube video posted by user Rich Clark. In it, a young Gosling — we estimate that this might be roughly around the time of his aforementioned TV gigs — plays an acoustic guitar while singing with Clark at a show of some sort. There's not much detail about this performance, but it's safe to say Gosling maintained an interest in both singing and acting post-Mickey Mouse Club.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Sometimes, Gosling's acting gigs involve a little singing, such as 2007's oddball film Lars and the Real Girl. In this scene, Gosling, who plays main protagonist Lars, serenades his sex-doll girlfriend with Nat King Cole's "L.O.V.E." It may be a bit animated, but Gosling's voice is endearing nonetheless.

Dead Man's Bones (2009)

Gosling took an acting break between Lars and the Real Girl and 2010's Blue Valentine to put out an album with his friend Zach Shields. Together, they were called Dead Man's Bones, and their self-titled album was a collaboration with the Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir. Gosling sang and played guitar, piano and bass. Dead Man's Bones toured in 2009 and 2010 and even performed at the FYF Festival in Los Angeles in 2010. The band hasn't been active since 2012, but many are still hoping for more music from Gosling and Shields.

Blue Valentine (2010)

Gosling continued to bring his musical skills into his films in Blue Valentine. In this scene with his onscreen girlfriend (played by Michelle Williams), Gosling plays the ukulele while singing her the Mills Brothers' "You Always Hurt the One You Love." "I can't really sing," he tells Williams. "I have to sing goofy in order to sing, like I have to sing stupid." What lies! Even in his strange, quasi-Elvis impression he sounds charming. As Williams points out: "You're actually good!"

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

The man can even sing in Spanish! Watch in this scene from the 2012 film The Place Beyond the Pines.

Saturday Night Live (2015)

When Gosling hosted Saturday Night Live in 2015, he teamed up with fellow Canadian actor Mike Myers in his opening monologue to sing about Canada. He even dances a little, but totally gets outdone by Myers.

La La Land (2016)

Gosling earned his second Oscar nomination in 2017 for his role in Damien Chazelle's musical La La Land. In it, he played a jazz pianist named Sebastian, who falls in love with an aspiring actress named Mia (Emma Stone). For this film, Gosling spent two hours a day practising piano, six days a week, in addition to learning a variety of dance styles such as tap, ballroom and jazz. 

While La La Land won six Oscars, including Stone for best actress, the film did receive some criticisms for its portrayal of jazz (a genre rooted in Black history and created by Black musicians) as a dying genre and positioning Gosling's Sebastian, a white person, as its saviour. The subject became so prominent around the time of the Academy Awards — where La La Land ultimately lost best picture to Barry Jenkins's Moonlight — that Gosling addressed it during his Saturday Night Live opening monologue — via a musical number, of course. 

Song to Song (2017) 

Gosling continued the musical theme with his next film, Terrence Malick's experimental drama Song to Song. He plays yet another musician in this film, who falls in love with a guitarist played by Rooney Mara, and unknowingly gets tangled up in a love triangle with Mara's other love interest, a record producer played by Michael Fassbender. The movie also features a number of cameos from notable musicians including Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Anthony Kiedis and Canadians Tegan and Sara. 

Barbie (2023) 

After a few years out of the spotlight, Gosling returned to acting in 2022, and is now gearing up for one of his biggest roles yet in Greta Gerwig's highly anticipated Barbie. Even though Gosling is "just Ken," playing the sidekick to Margot Robbie's Barbie, Ken does get a solo number on the soundtrack where he asks the important question: "Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blond fragility?" The track was written and produced by Mark Ronson, and features Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash.