Ryan Gosling’s early brush with showbiz came not on a soundstage, but at wedding receptions, where the future star belted out tunes as an 8-year-old for pocket money. In a heartfelt interview recently, the 45-year-old actor opened up about how his uncle’s obsession with Elvis Presley sparked his performance journey.
Uncle’s Elvis Persley spark
On The Drew Barrymore Show, Gosling painted a vivid picture of coming home from school to find his uncle bedazzling a white jumpsuit. “So my uncle was an Elvis [Presley] impersonator,” Gosling told Barrymore. “‘When I was 8, I came home one day from school, and he was bedazzling a white jumpsuit in the living room with a big eagle on the back, and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ And he said, ‘I’m gonna be Elvis for a little while.’ And he was.” He went on to describe the full transformation. “He started talking like Elvis, singing like Elvis, doing karate in the backyard,” Gosling added.
Wedding singer gig
When his uncle quit performing, Gosling and his sister kept the fun going, leading to his quirky side hustle. “I would get 20 bucks to sing ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’ to the bride, during the garter ceremony,” Gosling laughed. “Like…who thought it was a good idea to bring an 8-year-old to the garter ceremony? I would get on my knees and sing to her … and I was like, ‘Where’s my 20 bucks?’” The gig honed skills that later landed him on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club at age 13.
Local fame and talent shows
In the same conversation, Ryan further shared about his uncle’s fame. Growing up in a small Ontario town, Gosling’s uncle drew crowds at the mall with his act. “You know, everybody in our town would come to see him perform at the mall,” he recalled. “Everyone felt like they were seeing Elvis, you know, people would… they would put on a talent show in order to, like, supplement the show. And so, you know, like, the guy that works at the A&P is suddenly, like, doing a version of ‘Black Velvet’ that would knock your socks off.” This scene taught young Gosling about the magic of performance. He called it a “liberating experience,” explaining, “You realize everyone has a talent… when they get on stage, it’s kind of who they really are.” Gosling remains “so grateful to him,” noting the uncle’s influence changed his life.
