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Ryan Gosling, star of Project Hail Mary, in 5 lesser-known roles
In Project Hail Mary (2026), the ambitious film adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel, Ryan Gosling stars alongside Sandra Hüller and portrays a science teacher thrust alone aboard a spaceship, light-years from Earth. As the feature is coming out on March 18th, 2026, it is the perfect opportunity for Numéro to look back at some of the Canadian actor’s lesser-known roles…
Ryan Gosling, star of the film Project Hail Mary
In recent years, Ryan Gosling, 45, has established himself as one of Hollywood’s favourite actors. He has recently starred in films directed by Damien Chazelle, Greta Gerwig, and David Leitch. The latter worked with the Canadian actor on The Fall Guy in 2024. A stunt performer and stunt coordinator too, the filmmaker chose Ryan Gosling as the lead character in his latest wild ride, which arrived two years after the success of Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt. The premise? After an accident that nearly ended his career, an anonymous stuntman sets out to find a missing star and tries to foil a conspiracy…
On March 18th, 2026, Ryan Gosling will embark on a brand-new adventure… He is the star of the sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, an ambitious adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel produced and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. A chance to rewind the clock and go through the actor’s lesser-known roles, from Drive (2011) to La La Land (2017) and Barbie (2023)…
Actor Ryan Gosling in 5 lesser-known roles
A prosecutor in Fracture
In 2007, Ryan Gosling portrayed the assistant district attorney Willy Beachum in Gregory Hoblit’s legal thriller Fracture. Willy is an exceptionally gifted lawyer accustomed to winning all his cases. He is assigned to the murder trial of Ted Crawford’s wife, with Crawford as the prime suspect, played by Anthony Hopkins. Arrogant at first, then ultimately more sensitive than he appears, this role helped launch Ryan Gosling’s career in Hollywood…
Fracture (2007) by Gregory Hoblit, available on Netflix.
A teenage killer in The United States of Leland
A lesser-known performance is his role as Leland P. Fitzgerald in the 2003 feature film The United States of Leland. Ryan Gosling embodies a complex, troubled 16-year-old, who fatally stabs a mentally disabled boy one day… He is immediately sent to a juvenile detention center, where he meets Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle), a teacher at the facility, with whom he develops a close bond. The film, produced by Kevin Spacey, who also stars in it, was presented in official competition at the 29th Deauville American Film Festival.
The United States of Leland (2003) by Matthew Ryan Hoge, available on YouTube.
An American football player in Remember the Titans
Boaz Yakin‘s film Remember the Titans features the charismatic Denzel Washington as Herman Boone, recently appointed head coach of the Titans football team. But we are in 1971, in the small town of Alexandria, Virginia, USA. For the first time, Black students were able to enroll into T.C. Williams High School… previously reserved for white students only. Racial tensions are tangible and quickly escalate. Ryan Gosling plays Alan Bosley, one of the high school’s football players. The young man is impressionable and impulsive, and struggles to find his place within both the team and society…
Remember the Titans (2001) by Boaz Yakin, available on Disney+.
A demigod in Young Hercules
Launched in the United States in 1998, the series Young Hercules, partly produced by Sam Raimi, follows the adventures of the young hero of Olympus. As a prequel to the show Hercules, created by Robert Tapert a few years earlier, the series was initially set to star Ian Bohen as the son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena… But the actor refused to film in New Zealand. Therefore, Ryan Gosling, who was 18 at the time, landed the role of the demigod, unaware of what his future career would hold. As evidenced by one of his early interviews: “We’re going to try to make the best possible show for kids coming home from school, so they can forget about their homework. That’s what I’m focusing on. Whatever happens in my career doesn’t matter. Even if I never work again after that.”
Young Hercules (1998), created by Robert G. Tapert, available on Google Play.
Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake in The Mickey Mouse Club
Ryan Gosling was 12 years old when he joined The Mickey Mouse Club in 1993. This group of children’s television shows, launched by Disney in the early 1950s, served as a springboard for many music and film stars in the 1990s, including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and actress Keri Russell. Ryan Gosling took part in numerous comedy sketches, dance numbers and musical performances. It was a short, formative experience, since this version of The Mickey Mouse Club, broadcast on Disney Channel, came to an end a few years later, in 1996.
The Mickey Mouse Club (1989–1996), available on YouTube.
Project Hail Mary (2026) by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, coming out in theatres on March 18th, 2026.
