Which Ryan do we love the most? Help us decide…
There has been a debate raging in Movies.ie Towers this week; which Ryan do we love the most? Reynolds or Gosling? Both have gone from girl magnets to being the kind of person that most of us would like to have a drink with, but that gender spanning appeal is not enough of an argument, so we ask; Who is the better Ryan?
Both are Canadian…
Who knew? Ryan Reynolds was born in Vancouver and is of Irish ancestry. Ryan Gosling was born in Ontario and was home schooled for a year as a result of being bullied. Aww.
The Story So Far…
Ryan Gosling began his career as a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club – yes the same show that spawned Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake – as well as appearing on many Canadian TV series. Gosling’s first serious role was in The Believer, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001. Since then, Gosling has made a career for playing misfits in indie films including Blue Valentine and his star-making performance in Lars and the Real Girl. Gosling was nominated for two Golden Globes and for an Academy Award for Half Nelson. Oh, and he was also in a tearjerker called The Notebook. You may have heard of it…
In 2011, cinema audiences will see Ryan Gosling expand his acting horizons with his first action role in Drive, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Best Director prize for Nicolas Winding Refn. Gosling also appears in his first comedy Crazy, Stupid Love, and was directed by George Clooney in political drama The Ides of March, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Over to Mr Reynolds… He also appeared on Canadian TV as a youngster; Reynolds rose to fame in the National Lampoon movie Van Wilder and the TV show Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, which ran for three years. For a while, Reynolds primarily appeared in comedies such as The Proposal and Just Friends, but has recently moved into more dramatic territory with Smokin’ Aces and Buried. Reynolds has been nominated for 18 awards throughout his career; none so prestigious as an Oscar, but from his roles in as the title character in The Green Lantern and Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he is one of the very few actors to headline in movies based in both the Marvel and DC Comics universes.
Reynolds has a history of sticking with what he is good at and his 2011 contributions of The Green Lantern and The Change-Up pale in comparison to Gosling’s Drive and what we hear about The Ides of March. Gosling also has the ability to spot a box office flop; he walked away from The Lovely Bones just days before filming started. Also, Gosling restored cars on the set of Drive and built a kitchen table that was used on set in The Notebook. What a guy.
The Love Interest
Ryan Reynolds was in a relationship angry singer, and fellow Canadian Alanis Morissette from 2002 until 2007. Just as women around the world were getting annoyed – at Alanis for not being angry any more and for stealing Ryan Reynolds – the two ended their engagement. Reynolds went on to marry Scarlett Johansson in 2008, but there was obviously too much beauty in the marriage (that is our story and we are sticking with it) as Reynolds filed for divorce in 2010.
Ryan Gosling, on the other hand, has made a routine out of dating his co-stars. Gosling met Sandra Bullock on the set of their 2002 movie Murder by Numbers and the pair dated for over a year. She was 38, he was 22. Well done Ryan! After that, he was in a relationship with Rachel McAdams, his co-star from The Notebook from 2005 to 2007… and again for a little while in 2008.
The Clothes
Both Ryans know how to dress – Reynolds has just been snapped up as the new face of Marks and Spencers in the UK and Ireland , while abroad he is the face of Hugo Boss Night. Check out a picture here
Ryan Gosling sported some fantastic suits at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year – which we loved because they were a break away from the traditional black – and turned up at the press conference looking fantastic in white trousers and a 1940s style beach shirt. Check out a picture here
Charity Work
Both of our favourite Ryans do a lot of work for good causes – Reynolds ran the New York City Marathon in 2009 for his father, who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease. Read his reasons why in this fantastic article that he wrote for The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-reynolds/why-im-running-the-new-yo_b_133157.html
Ryan Gosling, on the other hand, is a member of the Enough Project, which aims to end genocide and crimes against humanity, he famously wore a t-shirt with the word ‘Darfur’ on it to raise awareness of the civil war in the Darfur region of Sudan and in 2010, he travelled to eastern Congo.
The Music
We suspect that this may be an unfair category, but it would be remiss of us to extol the virtues of Ryan Gosling without mentioning that he formed a band with his friend Zach Sheilds. Dead Man’s Bones released their self-titled album in 2009, which is collaboration with the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir. Before you dismiss the band on the grounds of pure pretentiousness, know this; Dead Man’s Bones site their influences as the Disney Haunted Mansion, doo-wop and 60s girl groups, they formed the band because they wanted to write love stories about ghosts and monsters and they sound like The Arcade Fire meets Nick Cave with some B movie horror style sound thrown in for good measure. In other words, they are good; with song titles like My Body’s a Zombie for You, how could they not be?
VIDEO: Pa Pa Power by Dead Man’s Bones
Ryan Reynolds is credited with performing ‘It Takes Two’ in The Proposal. We told you this category was probably unfair.
VOTE
So we have given you all of the facts, and we have made our own decisions – we still can’t agree. We throw it open to you, our lovely readers. Settle this debate, vote in our poll below; which Ryan do you prefer? Reynolds, whose latest The Change-Up is still playing in cinemas across the country, or Gosling who is dominating Irish screens this week with Drive and Crazy, Stupid Love?
Words – Brogen Hayes