Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is an Academy Award-nominated Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in The Notebook, Half Nelson and Fracture. Gosling was born in London, Ontario and raised in the small city of Cornwall, the son of Donna, a secretary, and Thomas Gosling, a paper mill worker. His parents, who were Mormons, divorced when he was young. He had difficulty in school and often took part in fights with fellow students. His mother withdrew him from school and taught him at home from the age of ten. Gosling did not have a religious upbringing, he was free to explore and discover his own religious beliefs. After returning to the public system he went to Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School, he ended up dropping out at the age of seventeen.

Gosling has had no formal training as an actor. His first acting experience was in the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club, for which he auditioned on a whim at the age of thirteen. As a result, he appeared in the show alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake in the show's sixth and seventh seasons. Later he appeared in other television series including Young Hercules and Breaker High. His fame spread to the United States after he starred in the 2001 controversial drama The Believer, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. This success led to future films including Remember the Titans, The Slaughter Rule, and Murder by Numbers. Because of his turn as the romantic lead in the 2004 film The Notebook, Gosling was named one of People magazine's Fifty Hottest Bachelors and the Show West Male Star of Tomorrow.

In preparation for his role as Dan Dunne, a drug-addicted, junior high school history teacher in the 2006 film Half Nelson, Gosling moved to Brooklyn, shadowed a middle school teacher, and studied the Civil Rights Movement (a subject with which his character is fascinated). In March 2007, Gosling won the Best Actor category at the Spirit Awards (formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards) for his role in the movie. For the same role he was nominated for an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Broadcast Film Critics Association award as best actor.
Recently Gosling has starred in the film Fracture alongside Anthony Hopkins. In 2007, Gosling was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Source: Wikipedia.