Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and director best known for playing the leading role in the romantic drama, ‘The Notebook’. He has appeared in several highly successful Hollywood films like ‘Half Nelson’ and ‘Lars and the Real Girl’ for which he received numerous award nominations. The talented actor had always loved acting and was especially influenced by the film ‘Dick Tracy’ which he first watched as a child. Such was the impact of films on his young mind that he once took steak knives to school after watching the Sylvester Stallone action film, ‘First Blood’ and threw them at classmates. He was often bullied in school and had problems making friends; he also suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There was however one thing that he was good at—performing. As a child he had performed with ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ for two years. He also used to sing at weddings with his sister and got involved with a local ballet company. Performing before audiences boosted his confidence and he decided to make a career out of it. Initially he played minor roles in independent films before landing on substantial roles in bigger movies. His career began to take off after his role in ‘The Notebook’ and he went on to carve a niche for himself in Hollywood.