I never go into an awards season thinking “this is going to be a boring suckfest and there will be no surprises.” I actually look forward to the hustle and bustle of awards season every year, even when I realize half-way through the season that there are no surprises and everyone is playing it safe. All that being said, looking back on the past two years, sh-t was really boring. Leonardo DiCaprio and Boy Drama In the Woods. Matthew McConaughey winning an Oscar for losing a lot of weight. Alicia Vikander winning an Oscar for no real reason other than “the Academy” liking tear-soaked period pieces.
Back in December, I was actually thinking we were in for another boring season. But then everything got political, Meryl Streep dropped the mic, and the SAGs blew open one of the “safest” races, Best Actor. It was a total shock that Denzel Washington won the SAG for Fences. And it showed us all that the Best Actor race is still wide open. I tweeted on SAG night that Ryan Gosling should try to campaign a little bit and see if he can walk away with an Oscar. And it looks like he’s heeding my advice! Behold, this article appears in the new issue of People Magazine:
Ryan Gosling may be having the biggest year in his career thanks to his starring role in the musical La La Land, but these days the actor is loving his low-key life off camera with his girlfriend of five years Eva Mendes and their two daughters Esmeralda Amada, 2, and Amada Lee, 9 months.
“Ryan is an incredible dad and is head over heels for his girls. He’s always been like a kid at heart, so he’s a fun dad with lots of energy,” an insider tells PEOPLE. The Oscar nominee, 36, and Mendes, 42 — who met making 2012’s The Place Beyond the Pines — have now become a happy family of four and, according to an insider, are on the same page when it comes to raising their daughters.
“Their focus is on giving their girls a normal upbringing,” says another source. One of the ways they are trying to do this is by living a life out of the spotlight. “Ryan and Eva are incredibly private, but at home, they’re just like any normal family. They don’t like the L.A. lifestyle and love to get out of town where they have more freedom to be out and about without all the attention.”
The couple still live in their modest two-bedroom L.A. house that was once Gosling’s bachelor pad and don’t have a nanny, according to the second source. Instead, they rely on Mendes’ family when they need an extra hand.
Although it’s gearing up to be a very busy month for Gosling as he heads to the Oscars with La La Land, which scored a record-tying 14 nominations, he’s also savoring his role at home as a family man.
“You can tell that both Ryan and Eva just want to spend as much time as possible with their daughters,” says the Gosling source.
Ah, the family-man strategy. Matthew McConaughey did this too, and it helped push him over the edge. Ryan’s Oscar campaign is: I’m a humble guy from Canada, I fell in love with a bombshell actress and I turned her into a down-to-earth stay-at-home mama who raises our babies and stays out of the spotlight. I’m not a famewhore, I do good work, I’m quiet and your wife and/or daughter loves me. I’m wholesome but not TOO wholesome. Will that work? Will Casey Affleck and Denzel split the votes and Gosling will walk away with it? Who knows? I am glad to see him campaigning a little bit though. You know what would help? A casual pap stroll with Eva, and possibly the girls (although the babies aren’t completely necessary). We just need a visual reminder that Gosling is A Nice Guy In A Committed Relationship.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
And NOT a rapist.
i just wanted to see him and Eva together at the Oscars, but I don’t think she will be there =(
She’s SO beautiful. We deserve her and her turban at the red carpet.
I don’t know if that’s really a strategy. Seems like he’s a quiet, family man by nature. I’m all for it. I really like him.
While I am neutral on him, I do agree with your comment. It doesn’t seem like a crafted image. This seems to be his real life. I say go for it Ryan. #anybodybutcaseyaffleck
they all have a strategy, and there’s nothing really wrong with it. i think everyone who’s ambitious wants to be recognised by their peers, regardless of their job.
Yeah I think this is actually his life and I’m okay with him living that during the campaign. It’s not strategic or a front, imo.
Also, Eva’s a grown woman. I don’t believe that Ryan took a “bombshell actress and turned her into a down-to-earth stay-at-home mama who raises babies and stays out of the spotlight.” she’s capable of making her own choices and Ryan didn’t make her do anything. Plus, given two young babies and her brother who died recently after a long battle with cancer, I’m inclined to think she’s out of the spotlight of her own choosing.
I agree it’s not really a strategic image. I think that is what he is, BUT it did not require an article/write up in People magazine, weeks away from the Oscars. It doesn’t feel as fake as some other people’s Oscar campaigns, but going to People means he is doing some light campaigning.
Kaiser, your droll, wiseass summary of Ryan’s family-man Oscar strategy was hysterical and right on, and I loved it. Read it twice even though I’m having the busy morning from hell. Think I’ll repost it here just for the benefit of all who may have skipped over it:
“I’m a humble guy from Canada, I fell in love with a bombshell actress and I turned her into a down-to-earth stay-at-home mama who raises our babies and stays out of the spotlight. I’m not a famewhore, I do good work, I’m quiet and your wife and/or daughter loves me. I’m wholesome but not TOO wholesome.”
I wouldn’t mind at all if Ryan took home the statue.
It is a strategy because it’s in PEOPLE magazine. If he really were quiet then there’d be no articles anywhere because *duh* he’d stay quiet and ignore it all. See Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen.
I love how astute you are when it comes to the nuances of an Oscar campaign, Kaiser.
I don’t think his performance as a tap dancing white man was something groundbreaking, but I won’t mind if he wins and gets more work. I like to look at him.
I love Oscar season because it reveals how desperate actors are.
LOL, this!!
Apology in advance, and I know I’m in the minority on this, but I think he’s kind of a tool.
Totally. And no way did he put out the best male performance of the year.
You and my boyfriend both! And though I find him attractive I totally see where you guys are coming from. He’s just… a little too much huh?
Nope. I think he’s a tool and he’s not very attractive. I also feel like he purposely hides Eva more than anything, which bugs me on some level.
‘their two daughters Esmeralda Amada, 2, and Amada Lee’
are they serious? so their second daughter’s name is the first daughter’s middle name?
That’s a common naming custom in Hispanic families.
This.
oh thank you. i didn’t know.
“are they serious?”
While that may not be familiar to you, I’m not sure why it seems so outrageous.
As @teacakes makes note of, in Hispanic families (as I imagine other cultures) sharing names is fairly common.
For example, my sisters and I all have the same middle name. – it is my mom’s first name.
Yep. Both my sisters have my first name as a middle name. I tell them it’s because Mom loves me best:)
Yeah, that’s exactly why I would avoid it, if there were cultural background reasons.
No need to make you child and extension of the first.
I also hate first boy child named after fathers. Give the kids their own identity. The father thing is extra egotistical.
In this case, I think I prefer DiCaprio and MM.
At least they don’t try to take pride in domesticating a woman. I am sure Eva was not pushed out of the limelight, she must have had a say, but I also have a suspicion that Ryan likes them domesticated.
Rachel McAdams’ career almost disappeared when she was with him. Eva was no megastar but she had charisma. Now, she is happily tweeting from some place hidden like her acting career never existed.
Agree. Weird that is supposed to be some sort of selling point.
Eva’s capable of being accountable for her own choices. Ryan didn’t make her do anything and even if he does like for her to “be home” that maybe also her idea of what she envisions for her family and that makes them compatible, not Ryan imposing his views on her career. Plus, given two young babies and her brother who died recently after a long battle with cancer, I’m inclined to think she’s out of the spotlight of her own choosing.
But like… what has she been in aside from Hitch???
I think fast and furious 1or 2.
Omg a great role in Stuck On You. Watch it, it’s a classic 😀
Hahhah
Training Day, fast and furious 2, hitch,
IA, Rachel McAdams was not working when she was with him. Although I’m sure he is a nice human being
Not sure that the family man strategy makes sense when Denzel another, more traditional (e.g. Married) family man, just won the SAG award. I think Emma Stone has a lot of momentum and he would be better off trying to hitch his wagon to hers and do a sort of “we are the new generation of elite actors” campaign.
the ‘family man’ thing makes no sense considering that afaik Eva Mendes has never done a public appearance with him.
I mean, you won’t catch her premiering their kids’ faces at a Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony or anything.
+1 you can’t do both ie be private and pimp your relayionship when it suits you
So basically the same thing he’s been doing ever since he formed a family?
lol I agree with you. Not sure why certain celebs get a pass. We’d believe Meryl isn’t pitching a strategy or Daniel day Lewis who literally only comes out of hiding for awards or his own movies. I believe the same for Ryan. Maybe two kids and a compatible partner keeps him humble and home and happy. Not seeing a strategic image play here.
I have lost respect for many celebs who are so desperate to win awards that use their kids as chess pieces. Look at Ben Affleck and his pap strolls. Some others are probably decent enough but when I look at Matthew McConaghey, Matt Damon and Ryan Gosling, I see extremely successful men who have wives who don’t really do much other than tag along and raise the kids. So easy to be a Big Family Man when the wife is at home doing all of the parenting and lets you participate whenever it is convenient. Then they turn around and use this to win votes. Gross.
Can’t the same be said about Denzel? A family man look I have no horse in this race they can give the damn award to guy in diner #5 for all I care as look as it’s not Ben’s lil douche face brother
ryan seems to have just started his campaign. He was missing for a lot of the la la land promo tour because he was filming. But I also think he doesn’t care
I read an interesting article the other day that postulates that there is simmering backlash against Casey Affleck because of the sexual harassment allegations. The article states that while Nate Parker’s film was knocked out of contention, it’s as if Casey is gliding untarnished on his way to Oscar Gold and the resentment has been building against him. Should be interesting on Oscar night to see who gets the Best Actor award. I’m hoping it’s Denzel.
ME TOO!!!!
Not a sexual deviant defender but Nate’s situation was a bit different – he gang raped and then harassed a woman for months who then attempted suicide several times before being ‘successful’. I don’t know many details of Casey’s situation but are charges being pressed against him?
No formal charges. He settled out of court.
Does the family man image count that much for voters when they make their pick?
Wholesomeness and niceness aren’t exactly Penn’s brand and he won twice. In the last 2 decades, Spacey, Nicholson, Foxx and Di Caprio managed to win so quiet-family-oriented-down-to-earth guy maybe isn’t such a requirement.
Ryan is absolutely one of the Nicest Actors I have ever met … Genuine and totally down to earth … have been around him at least six times.
He seems very cool. Plus talented. Maybe Eva is keen to be just a Mum for a while – is it really a bad thing to want to do nothing more than raise your kids??
I agree that Ryan is just being himself here. Eva was raised a strict Catholic so I’m betting that she and her family are uneasy about the couple having kids and not being married – maybe.