Ryan Gosling has one of the most impressive filmographies of any actor this century. He might not quite be as revered as some of his peers, but few can match the kind of output he’s produced over the past 25 years. He’s proved his charisma time and time again, that he can be irreverently funny, and his dramatic range, often in the same film. While he started out in the Mickey Mouse Club and had roles in TV shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, it was really The Notebook that catapulted him to mainstream attention.
The romantic drama with Rachel McAdams was a perfect example of his on-screen charm, though what came after was even more interesting. Rather than become a typical Hollywood leading man, the actor went the indie route and sought more challenging roles: a heroin-addicted teacher in Half-Nelson, a man who has a romance with a sex doll in Lars and the Real Girl. The 2010s, then, would really be a second-breakout for him, as he moved into some more commercial fare and established himself as a true A-list talent, from rom-coms to musicals to Sci-Fi.
The latter genre is where he’s at with his most recent release, 2026’s Project Hail Mary. It’s already looking like it’ll end the year as one of its best movies, and be a contender at the Oscars 2027. After this, I’m not sure any actor has been in more movies I’ve loved this century than him, but where does it rank among Gosling’s very best?
8) First Man (2018)
Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures
After the success of La La Land, Gosling reunited with director Damien Chazelle for First Man, a biography of Neil Armstrong. The movie charts the years leading up to the moon landing, including the toll it takes on Armstrong, his wife, Janet (Claire Foy), and his colleagues.
It’s a departure for both men, because the work here is a bit less flashy (though there are still a few stunning space sequences, with the opening launch particularly intense). It’s one of the most restrained and quiet performances of Gosling’s career, but no less impressive for it. Although the film is perhaps a little too emotionally distant at times, the actor’s closed-off, internalized take on Armstrong is compelling to watch. He pairs well with Foy, and the exploration of what it costs to chase one’s dreams – something Chazelle also explored in Whiplash and La La Land – remains fertile thematic ground here.
7) Barbie (2023)
Image via WB
Gosling may “just” be Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, but his performance is everything. From the very first photo of him in costume, with bleached blonde hair, it looked like this was going to be one of his most memorable roles, but even that wasn’t an indicator of just how great he (and the movie as a whole) would be.
While he’s second fiddle to Margot Robbie (who is also fantastic here), Gosling stands out, and what’s perhaps most impressive is his sheer commitment to the bit. The actor fully throws himself into Barbieland, turning Ken’s insecurities into absurd hilarity and yet also with a couple of moments to emotionally ground him just enough that it never becomes too ridiculous. He’s gloriously entertaining, and while not everyone in the movie’s cast gets to shine as bright, he is more than Kenough.
6) Project Hail Mary (2026)
Image Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
There’s a good chance that, over time, Project Hail Mary will move up this ranking. It’s a little soon and I’m wary of recency bias, but it is, undoubtedly, a masterpiece. Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the movie follows Ryland Grace (Gosling), a science teacher who finds himself in space, on a mission to save Earth from total disaster.
There’s a lot of heady science in Project Hail Mary (though the movie tones some of it down from the book), and Gosling is key to making that work. He makes it all feel relatable and human, bringing his now trademark quippy humor but perfectly balancing it with emotion when the severity of the situation requires it.
At its heart, this is a story about friendship. James Ortiz, voice and motion performer for Rocky, deserves a ton of credit, but even more so goes to Gosling for being able to act so well opposite him, proving, yes, he can even have chemistry with a rock. The visuals are spectacular, and it’s a true original experience worthy of the biggest screen, which feels too rare these days.
5) Blue Valentine (2010)
Another Gosling movie that’s told in a non-linear fashion, albeit for different reasons. Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine follows Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), charting the highs and lows of their turbulent relationship. And honestly, I don’t think any movie has so perfectly, devastatingly captured the reality of a messy breakup as this.
It’s a tough watch at times, so it won’t be for everyone, but that’s also to the movie’s credit. It’s unflinching in its approach, and while there is just enough light let in as we get to see some of the pair’s happier moments, it’s also the kind of raw, visceral experience that’ll leave you emotionally drained. Much of that comes from Gosling and Williams, who make for an incredible pairing, making their falling in and out of love so believable.
4) The Nice Guys (2016)
Image via WB
In another, better world, The Nice Guys makes far more than $63 million at the box office (its budget was $50m), and we’ve had at least one sequel, if not more. The Shane Black movie pairs Gosling with Russell Crowe in a story about a private eye and an enforcer having to become unlikely allies as they investigate a girl’s disappearance.
This is a classic slice of Shane Black buddy action comedy, that at once feels like a throwback to things like Lethal Weapon, but also a perfect modernized version of it. The script is tight, funny, and knowing, it’s fast-paced, flips genre expectations, and features plenty of razor-sharp dialogue.
Again, it is Gosling’s chemistry with his on-screen partner that’s the realy magic here. He and Crowe aren’t an obvious duo to put together, but they play off one another brilliantly. It’s dynamic, it’s hilarious, and it deserves so much more. In terms of Gosling specifically, he brings a wonderful physical comedy and winning incompetence to the part here, and it might just be his funniest, and most rewatchable, movie.
3) Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Starring in a sequel to one of the most important Sci-Fi movies of all time, and doing so alongside the legend that is Harrison Ford, is no easy feat, but it’s one Ryan Gosling was more than up to. Blade Runner 2049 arrived at a time when Hollywood was really getting into its legacy sequel craze, fuelled by the success of movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But where so many went down the route of crowdpleasing nostalgia, the Denis Villeneuve film took a more challenging, introspective approach that dissected that past while charting its own story, and was all the more rewarding as a result.
As Officer K, Gosling plays a replicant who uncovers a dangerous secret that leads him to Ford’s Rick Deckard, but while his character may be A.I., his soulful performance is entirely human. It’s one of greater subtlety than some of the actor’s roles, relying on facial expressions and mannerisms, but that’s perfect when there’s so much visual splendour going on around him.
It’s a movie that is epic and sweeping, buoyed by Roger Deakins’ frankly ridiculous cinematography, and yet intimate at the same time; it’s violent, yet beautiful. It enhances the original in the way it examines it and raises questions around it, and in its own story, while the pacing may not be for all, perhaps even surpasses it.
2) Drive (2011)
Image via FilmDistrict
Drive isn’t quite the best movie in Gosling’s filmography, but it is certainly the coolest, and not just because it prompted a generation of impressionable men in their early-20s to think they could pull off a white scorpion jacket (not me, honest, but a friend did have one; I’m more of a Kenough hoodie guy).
The movie, which follows Gosling’s unnamed character as a stunt driver turned getaway driver who gets close to his neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan) and caught up in the dangerous business of her husband (played by Oscar Isaac), is as intense and thrilling as anything in the actor’s filmography. The action and violence are hyper-stylized by director Nicolas Winding Refn, making this feel like its own unique thing among action contemporaries of the 2010s.
The synth-heavy soundtrack is worth listening to on its own, there are moments of electricity and tenderness between Gosling and Mulligan that punctuate just how dark it is, and Albert Brooks gives a psychotic supporting turn for the ages. Gosling is stoic and restrained; he hardly speaks at all in the entire movie, and while you’d think that taking away one of his biggest charms would be a negative, he’s completely magnetic.
Before we get to #1, here are some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut:
The Place Beyond the Pines
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Half-Nelson
The Fall Guy
1) La La Land (2016)
Image via Lionsgate
I wrestled with a lot of this ranking, and could easily shift most of the films listed around, but #1 was easy. There aren’t many movies I love more than La La Land (there are two, to be exact), Chazelle’s sun-drenched musical, which follows Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Gosling) as they try to balance their romance with their careers, is funny, heartfelt, beautiful, and devastating.
The colors are vibrant and gorgeous, the songs range from catchy, fun, sing-along numbers to more poignant, moving, and thematically rich ones, and it’s impossible (or it was for me, anyway) to not fall in love with it as Mia and Seb themselves are falling in love. It’s a dream of a movie, albeit one that jolts you back to reality (and is all the more powerful and memorable for it).
Gosling and Stone’s chemistry – in their third movie together, after Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad – is off the charts. Stone brings a lot of heft to Mia (her performance of “Audition” is one of the emotional high points of the film), but it wouldn’t work without Gosling either. He’s charming, funny, a little goofy, and too idealistic but you cant help but root for him anyway. It’s a perfect pairing, in a perfect movie.
What’s your favorite Ryan Gosling movie? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!