Ryan Gosling’s accent issues have never really bothered me that much, probably because I was never a Gosling super-fan and I really haven’t seen that many of his films. I’ve noticed how, at time, he seems to be attempting a New York accent for no particular reason (as in, his character is not from New York). Gosling has even been called out on it before, and he explained it once this way:
“As a kid I decided that a Canadian accent doesn’t sound tough. I thought guys should sound like Marlon Brando. So now I have a phony accent that I can’t shake, so it’s not phony anymore. I’m going for the Madonna thing, the Lady Gaga thing — a phony accent that becomes your trademark.”
That quote made me sad. I don’t want Gosling to be like Madonna or Lady Gaga! Even Madonna can’t keep her accents straight – sometimes she’s Detroit, sometimes New York, sometimes English, sometimes California Valley Girl. Well, anyway, Gosling’s peers have noticed the accent thing. Josh Brolin worked with Gosling in 2011 on Gangster Squad, and while Brolin doesn’t name Gosling in this new Man of the World interview, you know exactly who he’s talking about:
“I see young Hollywood punks on the set, and it’s funny to me. Because it’s absolutely me all over again. I’m the old guy who’s like, ‘Oh cool, you got your leather jacket and it cost you $400 and you bought it all ripped up!’ I remember a guy I worked with who was from Ontario, but he talked like De Niro. I was like, ‘Holy s–t, he’s actually doing De Niro. Does he know that I know? I’m not even listening to what he’s saying.’ It’s fascinating to me.”
What kills me a little is that Brolin makes it sound like Gosling does the DeNiro/Brando accent even when he’s not in character. As in, Gosling is just walking around the set, tawkin’ New Yawk. Sad. And while I’m not a fan of Brolin, it cracks me up that he’s calling out Gosling.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Word is Brolin purposely started fights with Gosling on the set of that dreadful movie they did with Kristen Scott Thomas. I guess he was on his way to AA at that time.
Ooooooooh!!! Any more details?
And is it true Gosling and Clooney did not get on?
Going by this interview, he is still picking fights with Ryan. Perhaps he needs another trip to rehab.
You confuse the movie.Gangster Squad was with Emma Stone .
Ryan Gosling was also in Gangster Squad
They weren’t in that movie together and did you actually hear this or just read it online?
The details don’t matter.
We have a young actor who people wish weren’t so discreet and circumspect and private.
Slammed by a thug who people wish didn’t get drunk and act like an Ahole so often.
It takes a lot of gall to diss anybody when you’ve lived Brolin’s life.
Gosling (who I love) does have that accent on in interviews too. Thankfully, I’m not American so I have no idea how bad it is. To me he just sounds like a sexy, blond, Italian American, banana-faced man. Love the Gos.
Banana faced man!!!!! Lol!!!!
“Banana-faced man” is so amazing. I must steal it for my collection.
Ha. I too love the Gos. In films anyway.
He has that accent on strong in ‘Crazy Stupid Love.’ It would be distracting, but his body is moreso…yeah..that scene with Emma Stone in his house with his shirt off? Yeah, he could speak to me in a really bad cockney accent or ebonics and I still would.
How perfect is that? Thank you for ‘banana-faced man’!
I find his voice a complete turn off. It isn’t his accent, it is just so high pitched. I get the giggles every time I try to watch a film with him in. It is ok as long as he isn’t trying to be tough and even then it is ok if he barely speaks, he is passable as a tough guy if he doesn’t speak.
At least Ryan isn’t a woman beater like Brolin. What’s up with assholes like Brolin and his buddy Sean Penn always mocking someone else while they can’t handle any mockery or criticism directed at them?
Yeah I can’t listen to anything Brolin says. It’s shame because back in the day I really liked him. I still think he’s a talented actor but MY GOD what a douchebag.
Word. I recently heard a radio interview about his new Everest movie, which sounds kind of interesting, but I was distressed just hearing his voice and feeling like he should not be indulged with air time from anyone.
@kay, kitten, & Esmom
Thank you! I read this yesterday and all I could think was “yeah, a phony accent is so much worse than beating your wife. Thanks for clarifying that for me, jack@$$.”
My mom was/is a big Brolin fan and every time she says anything about liking him or wanting to see one of his movies I remind her about the domestic violence charges against him (and how arrests are often just the tip of the iceberg with abusers) and she goes “oh, yeah. Nevermind, I always forget that.” Sadly, I feel that’s probably indicative of America at a whole. Why is it DV seems to gets a pass in our society? It mystifies me.
Sounds like someone is jealous of another actors career. But then again Josh knows how to control himself and NOT get in bar fights while filming a movie. Josh must be an insurance nightmare also. How he gets work is a mystery to me.
Be careful Josh will sue you for defamation.Was he arrested and convicted of DV ?
No, he wasn’t convicted of domestic violence. As the story goes, both he and Diane Lane were drunk one night and she made fun of the way he danced or something….he started talking shit to her, and she was like “oh, yeah tough guy? Well, let me call the cops”. Cops come and someone must be arrested. Either Josh is going for threatening/abusing or Diane Lane is going for calling the police under false pretenses. So Brolin went.
The only thing I’m going to comment on here is this: the police leave call scenes without arresting people all the time.
@Chris – is that what happened? I thought the details were that he did something (hit her/slapped her..something physical) but she brushed it off and didn’t press charges. So we dont know specifics.. I think he probably did more to her than we know and she probably walked away in the divorce quietly, with a nice settlement.
Because law enforcement ALWAYS gets DV cases right.
Omg, yes yes. Just what I was thinking. What a major loser.
exactly. Brolin is a grade A as&hole, ‘lll take bad accents over wife beating and lecherous behavior any day.
And Christian Slater tries to sound like Jack Nicholson
@Mispronounced Name Dropper: THANK YOU. Christian Slater sounds like Jack Nicholson’s vocal chords were scratched down a chalkboard. I can’t stand him for that reason. Love Nicholson though.
Oh Josh, you pretend to be other people for a living; don’t be so sneery and precious.
I love the combination of words sneery and precious. It’s so delicious and apt. I hope you don’t mind me stealing this sometime in the future.
Steal away! Happy to share 😉
And Brolin was in his late 40s having drunken brawls on the street or in bars and that is nothing new for him. Does he know that we think that’s pathetic at his age? Now he has his very young assistant that he’s engaged to. Talk about a walking cliche’.
Ha! This completely.
+1
in the pics Brolin really looks fitting in that setting, Gosling does not look rough enough.
Guy who fakes New York accent > Violent boozy rageaholic.
It’s easy to think of it as a put-on, silly thing but it’s not that unusual for actors to lose their natural accent. Some English actor, I can’t recall who, discussed having to hire a dialect coach to get his natural accent back. Hell, it happens to real life people too.
Yeah, happens in real life often. Some people are natural mimics and pick up accents really easily. Other people don’t. I myself, have a family with very diverse accents and find it depends who I’m with, how I talk. I don’t do it consciously, or as a put on, but I just naturally fall into certain speech patterns. Mainly Brittish or Eastern European. (though not as thick as the person Im talking to, still, with my original accent audible, if that makes sense). I’m an Aussie and if I’m talking to people, with that full on ocker accent, I fall into that too. My sister on the other hand has lived in Chicago for 15 years, and her accent is the same as the day she left home.
I hear you. I don’t pick up on accents but I’ve noticed when my husband spends time with some college friends who grew up in Kentucky he develops a drawl. Thankfully it disappears once they part ways again.
Yep, I’m one of those people – just a natural mimic, not an actor – and as anyone can tell from my previous comments, accents and language fascinate me.
Ryan’s a good guy. And at least he admits to copping a New York accent, though it shouldn’t be surprising since (if I’m not mistaken) he left Canada for the U.S. at a young age anyway.
How’s this any different than those who train to get rid of their accents and adopt a “Standard American English” one?
When I spend a week in Chicago I go back to Texas and friends tease me because I say I’ve been in “Chi-caah-go”. I can hear I’m doing it, but it just comes out that way unintentionally!
Haha, KB! When I get back to Texas I hear “So you’ve been to Wiscoooooonsin”. Go Packers!
Brolin apparently was a bully and a creep towards Gosling and Emma Stone on the set of Gangster Squad. Did he remove his silver spoon from his mouth before calling out someone for wearing a $400.00 ripped up leather jacket..
yeah, he lacks some self awareness to be sure
Son of a Hollywood star, he’s a toughie who grew up causing trouble in…the ‘Bu.
Yeah, I’m sure Josh never threw his dad’s name around in his lifetime.
If Josh was such a rebel he would have changed his last name and then try becoming an actor. Not!
Americans sound phony when they switch to another accent. Gosling sounds alright, he’s from Canada. He admitted to faking his accent. Brolin is just jealous. Gos went full-Brando in Blue Valentine though. His accent was really distracting.
That was such a terrible and over-hyped movie, IMHO. So hard to sit through.
I don;t get this Ryan thing…he always sounds like he has a sock in his mouth!
Banana faced 😂 spot on!
I have noticed that about Ryan Gosling. I like him, but it is annoying. Some of these young actors want so badly to be the Brando or De Niro of their generation that they think they should mimic them. No you shouldn’t. Stop with the phony accent. Get to the truth of your characters and stop posing as if you’re trying to sound like you are in Raging Bull or On the Waterfront.
At least Gosling didn’t get where he is with his fake accent through nepotism.
Callate, Brolin!
I thought what Brolin said was funny but everyone seems extra defensive on behalf of Ryan. It’s not that serious.
I thought it was funny too. Gosling admitting that he does an accent makes it funnier. Everybody is defensive because Brolin is a jerk. They can’t see pass that.
For what it’s worth I thought it was amusing too. Not even that bitchy if you think about it. And since Gosling has already admitted to doing an accent, I’m pretty sure he no cur.
Yeah, it was pretty funny to me – until I read all these comments here!
This. If anyone else had said it, it would just be plain funny. Can’t stand Josh Brolin.
@bns – +1
for me personally, it’s less about gosling(I’m apathetic about him) and more about a guy who is such an asshole calling other people out.
Well, Ryan has admitted to putting on the accent. He doesn’t deny it.
alteenatively you can read it as broken being a douche because the younger man has had a better career.
As someone who has worked with actors
I have no problems believing the stories that someone like brolin could bully a younger actor like gosling. People think female actors are the only one who get insecure and manipulative towards younger actors but let me tell you male actors have just as big an ego. I once worked with a 50 something actor who spent most of his time bullying the 20 someting actor in the production that he had identified as weak. Another time an older actor spent a lot if time unsettling a young actress with buzz around her straight out of drama school. The older actor was bitter that he hadn’t becomes the big deal he once was predicted to be an couldn’t handle the optimism of the younger member of the cast.
If Madonna ever has a “Detroit” accent, she’s faking it just as much as the others. She grew up in a middle class suburb nearly an hour away from Detroit. It’s upper middle class now, but was middle-middle class then. She went to the same high school as my mother, and at the same time. She’s not from Detroit.
Sorry, I just get really irritated with this idea floating around that Madonna had a hardscrabble life in Detroit. Her father was notoriously a nightmare, so she did not have an easy life, but “tough life in a nice suburb” is a different thing from “tough life in Detroit.”
Josh Brolin is a really questionable character.