Claim: Ryan Gosling was the star of Blue Valentine.

Ryan Thomas Gosling -LRB- born November 12 , 1980 -RRB- is a Canadian actor and musician . He began his career as a child star on the Disney Channel 's Mickey Mouse Club -LRB- 1993 -- 95 -RRB- and went on to appear in other family entertainment programs including Are You Afraid of the Dark ? -LRB- 1995 -RRB- and Goosebumps -LRB- 1996 -RRB- . His first starring film role was as a Jewish neo-Nazi in The Believer -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , and he went on to star in several independent films , including Murder by Numbers -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , The Slaughter Rule -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , and The United States of Leland -LRB- 2003 -RRB- .   Gosling came to the attention of a wider audience in 2004 with a leading role in the commercially successful romantic drama The Notebook . His performance as a drug-addicted teacher in Half Nelson -LRB- 2006 -RRB- was nominated for an Academy Award and his performance as a socially inept loner in Lars and the Real Girl -LRB- 2007 -RRB- was nominated for a Golden Globe Award . After a three-year acting hiatus , Gosling starred in the marital drama Blue Valentine -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , earning him a second Golden Globe nomination . Gosling co-starred in three mainstream films in 2011the romantic comedy-drama Crazy , Stupid , Love , the political drama The Ides of March , and the action thriller Driveand received two more Golden Globe nominations . Gosling 's directorial debut Lost River was released in 2014 to poor reviews . Greater success came to Gosling when he starred in two critically acclaimed filmsthe financial comedy-drama The Big Short -LRB- 2015 -RRB- and the musical La La Land -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . For the latter , he won a Golden Globe Award and received a second Oscar nomination .   Gosling 's band , Dead Man 's Bones , released their self-titled debut album and toured North America in 2009 . He is a co-owner of Tagine , a Moroccan restaurant in Beverly Hills , California . He is a supporter of PETA , Invisible Children and the Enough Project and has traveled to Chad , Uganda and eastern Congo to raise awareness about conflicts in the regions .