Ryan Gosling

Before becoming one of the most bankable romantic leads of his generation, Ryan Gosling established himself with misfit outsider roles in award-winning independent films like "The Believer" (2001), "Half Nelson" (2006) and "Lars and the Real Girl" (2007), with a believability that could only come from someone who had struggled with unease and dissatisfaction in their own life. Perhaps his awkward professional start in ill-suited endeavors like a stint as a cast member on the "Mickey Mouse Club" (Disney Channel, 1988-1995) and the short-lived fantasy series "Young Hercules" (Fox, 1998-99) also provided fodder for the disaffected roles the young actor would later craft with such voracity. Turns in higher-profile romantic dramas such as "The Notebook" (2004), combined with much publicized relationships with co-stars like Rachel McAdams brought Gosling a certain amount of heartthrob celebrity, although the actor doggedly avoided the "Hollywood Star" persona. After a brief absence from the screen in the late 2000s, Gosling reappeared at decade's end with two hard to classify performances - first, in the fact-based murder mystery "All Good Things" (2010), then in the romantic drama "Blue Valentine" (2010), the latter of which was a small, independent labor of love that earned him critical raves. With his stoic performance as an unnamed antihero in the neo-noir "Drive" (2011), Gosling had firmly established himself as one Hollywood's most interesting and unpredictable rising actors. Moving with ease from moody dramas like "The Place Beyond the Pines" (2012) and the knockabout comedy of '70s-set action flick "The Nice Guys" (2016) to the old-school Hollywood glamour of romantic musical "La La Land" (2016) and gritty, philosophical science fiction with "Blade Runner 2049" (2017), Ryan Gosling seemingly could do anything and do it brilliantly.