Ryan Gosling Movies Quiz: Can You Name Every Film?

Drive, directed by Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn and released in 2011, stars Ryan Gosling as a nameless Driver who works as a Hollywood stunt driver by day and a precision getaway driver by night. The film is celebrated for its atmospheric cinematography, its iconic opening sequence, and Gosling's famously sparse dialogue and intense physical presence. Drive won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011 and is widely considered one of the finest films of its decade.

The answer is True. Blue Valentine, directed by Derek Cianfrance and released in 2010, stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a couple whose marriage is shown simultaneously at two distinct points in time, the passionate early days of their relationship and the painful, emotionally exhausted state of its collapse. The film earned Michelle Williams an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Gosling's portrayal of Dean was widely praised for its rawness and authenticity, and the film is considered one of his most emotionally committed performances.

La La Land was directed by Damien Chazelle and released in 2016. Ryan Gosling plays Sebastian Wilder, an idealistic jazz musician determined to preserve traditional jazz in Los Angeles. His performance earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and his second Academy Award nomination. Gosling notably trained extensively on the piano for the role, performing most of the film's piano sequences himself rather than using a double, a commitment that drew widespread admiration from critics and musicians alike.

The Big Short, directed by Adam McKay and released in 2015, features Ryan Gosling as Jared Vennett, a Deutsche Bank trader who serves as the film's narrator and helps bring together the various investors who predict and profit from the collapse of the US housing market. The film also stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, and Brad Pitt and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Gosling's character frequently breaks the fourth wall to address the audience directly, an unusual and memorable stylistic device that helped define the film's irreverent tone.

The answer is True. First Man, released in 2018, was directed by Damien Chazelle, who also directed La La Land. It marks the second collaboration between Chazelle and Gosling. The film chronicles the life of Neil Armstrong in the years leading up to the historic Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969, focusing on the personal costs and psychological toll of the space program on Armstrong and his family. Gosling's restrained, deeply interior performance was praised for capturing Armstrong's famously private personality.

Steve Carell plays Cal Weaver in Crazy, Stupid, Love, the romantically separated middle-aged man who is taken under the wing of Ryan Gosling's slick, stylish Jacob Palmer. The film, directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, also stars Emma Stone and Julianne Moore. Gosling and Carell's scenes together produce some of the film's sharpest comedy, and the film is notable for featuring one of the earliest on-screen pairings of Gosling and Emma Stone, who would later reunite with much greater impact in La La Land.

The Place Beyond the Pines, directed by Derek Cianfrance and released in 2012, stars Ryan Gosling as Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stuntman who turns to robbing banks to provide for the son he has just discovered. The film also stars Eva Mendes as the mother of Luke's child and Bradley Cooper as a police officer whose path intersects with Luke's. The film is structured in three distinct acts across generations and is widely considered one of Gosling's most physically committed and emotionally complex performances outside of Drive.

The answer is True. Ryan Gosling received a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Ken in Greta Gerwig's 2023 Barbie and performed the film's song I'm Just Ken live at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony in March 2024. The performance, which included an elaborate production featuring fellow Kens and guitar playing, became one of the most talked-about moments of the ceremony and generated enormous positive reaction online and in the press, further cementing the cultural phenomenon surrounding the film.

Lars and the Real Girl, directed by Craig Gillespie and released in 2007, stars Ryan Gosling as Lars Lindstrom, a deeply introverted man living in a small rural community who purchases a life-size doll named Bianca and presents her to his family and neighbors as his real girlfriend. Rather than rejecting Lars, the community embraces him and treats Bianca as a real person as part of his emotional healing. The film was critically praised for Gosling's warm and sensitively observed performance, which drew comparisons to the best of his dramatic work despite the unusual premise.

Drive was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, La La Land by Damien Chazelle, and Blue Valentine by Derek Cianfrance, all correct. However, The Notebook was not directed by Steven Spielberg. The Notebook was directed by Nick Cassavetes, son of legendary filmmaker John Cassavetes. Steven Spielberg has never directed a Ryan Gosling film. Confusing major Hollywood directors is a common mistake, and the specific credit for The Notebook belongs firmly to Cassavetes.

George Clooney both directed The Ides of March and starred in it as Governor Mike Morris, the presidential candidate at the center of the film's moral drama. Ryan Gosling plays Stephen Meyers, a brilliantly talented but idealistic press secretary whose faith in the political process is severely tested. The film also features Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei. It received positive reviews and a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award nomination and is considered one of Gosling's most effective performances in a supporting-style lead role.

The answer is True. In Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve and released in 2017, Ryan Gosling plays K, an LAPD blade runner who hunts rogue replicants and begins to question his own identity as events unfold. The film is a direct sequel to the original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott in 1982 and starring Harrison Ford, who reprises his role as Rick Deckard in the sequel. Blade Runner 2049 won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects and was praised as a rare sequel that matched or exceeded the original in ambition and quality.

Ryan Gosling had a particularly prolific 2011, releasing Drive, Crazy Stupid Love, and The Ides of March in the same year. In The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney, Gosling plays Stephen Meyers, a press secretary working on a Democratic presidential campaign whose idealism crumbles when he becomes entangled in a political scandal. The three 2011 releases demonstrated the remarkable range Gosling had developed, moving from a near-silent crime drama to a romantic comedy to a sharp political thriller within a single calendar year.

Ryan Gosling starred as Ryland Grace in the 2026 film Project Hail Mary and also served as a producer through his production banner Open Invite Films. He shared producing credits with Amy Pascal through Pascal Pictures, Aditya Sood and Rachel O'Connor through Waypoint Entertainment, and Andy Weir, the author of the original novel. The film was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and written by Drew Goddard. It grossed 617 million dollars at the worldwide box office, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 2026 and a landmark in Gosling's producing career.

Gosling plays the Driver in Drive, Sebastian in La La Land, and Ken in Barbie, all confirmed. However, he does not play Buzz Aldrin in First Man. In First Man, Gosling plays Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. Buzz Aldrin is a different Apollo 11 astronaut who accompanied Armstrong on the mission but did not set foot on the moon first. Confusing Armstrong and Aldrin in the context of First Man is a common error, making option D the clearly incorrect statement.