Ryan Gosling

Depending on whom you ask, Ryan Gosling is either a starry-eyed dreamer or an idiosyncratic Method actor; with defining performances in the epic romance The Notebook and the unflinching drama Half Nelson, the unexpectedly versatile Gosling proved he can be both. His first brush with fame came on the 1990s TV incarnation of The Mickey Mouse Club (where co-stars included Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera), but it wasn't until his controversial role in The Believer, as a disillusioned Orthodox Jew turned fanatical neo-Nazi, that he was able to shed his child-actor image. Gosling found mainstream success in 2004 with his heartfelt portrayal of a devoted lover in the feature adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's best-selling novel The Notebook, and his ability to find the sympathetic core of even the most flawed characters landed him an Oscar nomination for his turn as a charismatic and drug-addicted history teacher in the award-winning indie Half Nelson. In a rare comedic role, Gosling brought tenderness and simplicity to his unconventional romantic relationship in the low-key Lars and the Real Girl. His nakedly honest performance as a slowly embittered husband in the brutal love story Blue Valentine ensured Gosling's position as an actor whose limits are nowhere in sight.