There is something to be said about talented Canadian stars, and right now I’m going to say that something about Cornwall Ontario’s own Ryan Gosling. This gorgeous Oscar-nominated actor began his career on the infamous Mickey Mouse Club, birthplace of über-stars Britney, Christina, and J-T. Unlike many of his peers in the MCC, RG has managed (thus far) to hold on to his sanity, and keep a modest private personal life untainted by drugs and alcohol abuse.
I first met Gosling in the best of the 1990’s, as a star of one of my all-time favorite TV shows growing up—Breaker High. Who could have predicted that the awkward skinny character Sean Hanlon would later transform into international heartthrob Noah Calhoun, the man who stole his co-star Rachel McAdams’ heart in The Notebook both on-screen and off. Since then, he’s stolen my heart not only for his good looks and fantastic acting abilities (he was almost a little too convincing playing a sociopath in All Good Things), but for his other passions.
RG can play the guitar and sings in a band (a catchy song I like: “Put Me in the Car”, can be found on his website or via YouTube). He owns and runs a Moroccan restaurant in Beverly Hills called Tagine with two of his friends, and according to Yelp.com holds an impressive rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars—based on 203 reviews. Not that he has anything to do with the quality of the food per se, but I still admire a man with a passion for creating healthy and authentic exotic cuisine. Above all, I love RG for his political activism fighting for international human rights. He and John Prendergast made a documentary after starting the ENOUGH! Project to end genocide and mass atrocities after Gosling visited the Darfur region back in 2005 (learn more: www.ENOUGHPROJECT.org). Nothing is more impressive than a changemaker, and this may be my own personal bias as a student studying Political Science—currently learning about international justice, international law and international development…But I digress.
So, let me re-cap:
Oscar-nominated actor + musician + restaurant owner + philanthropist + extremely good looking AND he’s Canadian?!
Ryan Gosling = The Perfect Male Specimen.
