Ryan Gosling has explained that he is no longer taking on roles that put him in a "dark place" because he has to consider "what is going to be best" for his family.
The actor, who shares two daughters with his longtime partner Eva Mendes, told The Wall Street Journal (via Variety) that if people have noticed a shift in his acting career in recent years, he wants them to know it is a conscious choice because he is opting to take on lighter roles so that he can be more present with his family at home.
"I don't really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place," Gosling said. "This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us. The decisions I make, I make them with Eva, and we make them with our family in mind first."
Gosling famously stepped out of his (toy) box to star in Greta Gerwig's Barbie last year, but his acting history proves he's not just Ken. He also put in notable turns as a stuntman-turned-getaway-driver in Nicolas Winding Refn's violent thriller Drive, a mysterious motorcycle racer in the 2012 crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines, and a liquor-laced detective in the neo-noir buddy comedy The Nice Guys — all of which were rated R by the MPA (Motion Picture Association).
The actor noted that his shift into lighter roles came in 2016 when he signed on to star alongside Emma Stone in the musical extravaganza La La Land.
"It was just sort of like, 'Oh, this will be fun for them, too, because even though they're not coming to set, we're practicing piano every day or we're dancing or we're singing,'" Gosling said of his roles in recent years. "Their interest in Barbie and their disinterest in Ken was an inspiration. I thought they were already making little movies about their Barbies on the iPad when it happened, so the fact that I was going off to work to make one too, we just felt like we were aligned."
Gosling's latest role is that of Hollywood stunt performer Colt Seavers in David Leitch's newly released action comedy The Fall Guy. The actor has already attracted praise for his performance in the movie, with IGN's review calling it "the perfect vehicle for Ryan Gosling's comedic timing – not to mention his romantic charm."
Image credit: Photo by Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
