Knowing He Wanted to Be a Father
Ryan Gosling has taken on many roles—but he didn’t always know dad would be one of them. That is until he met his The Place Beyond the Pines costar and love of his life Eva Mendes.
“It’s true that I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her,” he explained to GQ in May 2024. “And there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore. I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have.”
Experiencing the Role of a Lifetime
And becoming a father turned out to be everything Ryan hoped it would be.
“Your whole life, you hear what it's like to have kids, and all the clichés are true,” the actor also shared with the magazine in 2016. “I felt I knew that everything would be different, but until you experience that, there's no way to really know what people mean.”
Different how?
“I only know what it's like to have my kids,” he continued. “And in my situation, Eva's the dream mother, and they're dream babies, and it's like a dream that I'm having right now. I'm dreaming it all. So I feel so lucky.”
Supporting His Kids
Ryan has also made it clear that his daughters Esmeralda and Amada take center stage in his life.
“I’m trying to just figure out who they are and be there for them in the way that I can,” he told WSJ. Magazine in May 2024. “They’re such clear and distinct personalities that it’s sort of becoming obvious.”
And obviously, the Oscar nominee wants to be the best man he can be for them.
“You just want to be everything they deserve,” he added, “and you struggle with your own flaws.”
Enjoying Quality Family Time
Ryan wants to make sure he soaks in all the family time he can, too—which is why he took a break from acting and didn't appear in any films between 2018 to 2022.
“Just to be with my family,” The Notebook alum noted to Variety in February 2024. “I didn’t want to miss anything. My priorities changed, and I wanted to be with my kids. It’s going super fast. I hear the clock ticking. I don’t know how much time I’m going to get, and I don’t want to spend it in the wrong place. I know I’m not spending it in the wrong place if I’m with my family.”
Being Selective About Acting Jobs
To spend more time with his loved ones, Ryan doesn’t take every role he’s offered. In fact, he’s more selective these days and tends to steer away from particular gigs.
“I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,” he continued to WSJ. Magazine. “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.”
Ryan suspects this shift started with his 2016 film 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,” he added before talking about how his kids were a factor in him playing Ken in 2023's Barbie. “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.”
Bringing the Kids to Work
His daughters have even visited him on set. Though Ryan has admitted Esmeralda and Amada didn’t always fully grasp what he does for a living. In fact, he once shared a story about the time they saw him play Neil Armstrong in the 2018 picture First Man.
“So I was in the space suit and pretending to launch," Ryan recalled on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at the time. "I think they think I’m an astronaut. My oldest said the other day—she pointed to the moon. She was like, ‘That’s where you work, right?’”
Cheering Dad On
Of course, his kids are his biggest fans and were there for him when he was filming Barbie.
“There were certain scenes that I needed their help with specifically,” Ryan told Extra in July 2023. “My kids came to set one day in particular, were cheering me on.”
Still, they’re not afraid to tell their dad what they really think of his roles.
“I think they were very confused why I’d want to play Ken,” he added. “They don’t want to play Ken, why would I want to play with Ken? And I said, ‘But that’s why!’ They were like ‘OK.’ They’ve been supportive but still a little Ken-fused.”
LOL Moments
While Ryan has starred in several comedies, he’s noted his daughters have had some pretty funny moments of their own—with him describing a “power move” Amada pulled in France.
“We went to the Louvre, and we saw Winged Victory. We got to see Venus de Milo. And we’re standing in front of the Mona Lisa and she turns around and she goes, ‘This museum? [Thumbs down],’” the Crazy, Stupid, Love star remembered on The Tonight Show in 2022. “And I said, 'Why?’ And she said, 'Because it is not good.’”
Sharing Screen Time
Ryan has also discussed some of his relatable parenting moments. Like when he told Jimmy Kimmel the reason he watched the 2018 NBA Finals as preparation for the late-night show.
“I have a 2-year-old and a 3-and-a-half-year old,” Ryan said at the time. “So, let’s be honest, I’m not watching anything that doesn’t have a talking tiger in it.”
Living His Best Life
And while he’s grateful for his career, he’s most appreciative of how it's led him to Eva and fatherhood.
“I got to meet the girl of my dreams Eva Mendes and have two dream children,” Ryan said while accepting an award at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. “I dreamed of one day making movies and now movies have made my life a dream.”