Daniel Radcliffe wants to ensure that we don’t always think of him as a teenage Harry Potter. Considering I’m one of the few people that has never seen the films, it’s not a problem for me. I only judge Daniel on his interviews, and he always seems so intelligent, charming, funny and sweet. But just because I enjoy him, doesn’t mean that I’m not aware of his very careful publicity campaign to remake his image as an adult actor with an adult fan base. Thus, he’s been talking about his preferences for your mons fur (bring on the 1970s bush, says DanRad), and now, in several new interviews, he’s talking about boy-on-boy crushes and boning groupies. Oh, DanRad.

Daniel has a crush on The Gosdong: “No [I'm not gay]. I can quite happily say someone is handsome, good-looking, and I can see why someone would want to f**k them, but I’ve never felt that way about a man myself. There is that moment in your late teens when you ask yourself the question, ‘Am I?’ but I wasn’t…This year I have a talent crush on Ryan Gosling. I think he’s fantastic and…(ahem) you know he’d be nice afterwards. He seems smart. If I was gay, I would go for a smart man.”

Boning Potter groupies: “I was always very nervous about the groupie thing. I like to like somebody before I sleep with them. You know, you’re going to have to talk to them afterwards, even if it is a one-night stand. I have… I mean, that has happened, but generally speaking I’ve known the person. Apart from a few times when I was drinking.”

His girlfriend Rosie: “I haven’t seen her for weeks and I won’t be back for Valentine’s. I’ll be home a few days later, though, so I’ll have to make up for lost time. I’ve got three weeks off so we can be together – although I do plan to watch quite a bit of sport on TV.” Award-winning Radcliffe credited Rosie, whom he met on set of the last Harry Potter film where she worked as a production assistant, for being ‘very understanding’ and ‘incredibly adaptable’ and ‘far too good for me’. Daniel’s praise for his girlfriend goes hand-in-hand with his modesty, claiming he is ‘not an easy person to love’ and frequently quite ‘useless’.

On the three (technical) Oscar nominations for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2: “I don’t think the Oscars like commercial films, or kids’ films, unless they’re directed by Martin Scorsese. I was watching Hugo the other day and going, ‘Why is this nominated and we’re not?’ I was slightly miffed. There’s a certain amount of snobbery. It’s kind of disheartening. I never thought I’d care. But it would’ve been nice to have some recognition, just for the hours put in.”

On gay marriage: “Don’t define yourself by your sexuality, don’t define as straight or gay, define yourself as people and help another person if they’re in trouble. The ultimate reason gay marriage should be legalized everywhere is because, as a kid, you look to your mum and dad and they’re married, then you look at the gay couple who’ve been together for the same amount of time, but because they can’t get married their relationship doesn’t seem the same. Yes, gay marriage is about symbolically blessing a relationship, but the larger issue is about transmitting a fundamental message about equality. Gay people should have equality in law everywhere. If you grow up as a young gay man knowing you dont’ have the same opportuniteies as everyone else, you’re going to feel victimised and massive prejudice towards you.”

On religion: “I’m not religious, I’m an atheist, and a militant atheist when religion starts impacting on legislation. We need sex education in schools. Schools have to talk to kids from a young age about relationships, gay and straight.”

On the Republican presidential candidates: “…they disgusted me less than candidates like Rick Perry, who made that ridiculous advert wearing ‘the Brokeback jacket’, and I think pretend to be homophobic just to win votes.”

[From Celebuzz, Us Weekly and The Mail]

Just because I feel like doing this, can we analyze his comment about Ryan Gosling? Is Ryan the kind of dude that straight guys are like, “Yeah, I’d hit that”???? I always think that straight dudes have boy-crushes on men like… I don’t know… Brad Pitt? George Clooney? Michael Fassbender? If I was a straight guy, I’d probably have a boy crush on Fassy. As it is, I’m a straight girl with a lady-boner for Fassy, so it’s not all that different, maybe? Anyway, I have a question about Daniel’s comment of “I think he’s fantastic and…(ahem) you know he’d be nice afterwards.” O RLY? Do straight guys really think that far ahead? I’m not giving DanRad the Gyllenhaal “Girl Please” side-eye, but I’m starting to wonder if Daniel might have some bisexual urges. It’s fine if he does. But he better show Fassy some man-love, I’m just sayin’.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I jumped the gun with yesterday’s Eva Mendes story. Marie Claire just released the high-quality cover image, plus a few more pcs from the photo shoot. I still dislike the photo shoot, by the way. Eva is capable of looking dazzling, and she can really work the “bombshell” thing, but her styling here is just awful. Anyway, you can read her Marie Claire piece here, and here are some highlights – she’s promoting an indie film called Girl In Progress, where she plays a bad mother.

Her dog, Hugo: He’s Malinois (a Belgian variant of the German shepherd). We were supposed to take him for a walk, but a wintry drizzle has scuttled our plans — good thing, since Hugo doesn’t look like he takes well to journalists. “Couchez!” she orders him sternly. Hugo immediately lies down. “It sounds so pretentious,” Mendes admits, “but he learned his commands in French.” Cesar Millan, better known as the Dog Whisperer, sometimes dog-sits Hugo, she informs me. Hugo also wears a behavior-modification collar, which Mendes controls with a beeper.

On her modeling gigs: “I have taken the opportunities that have come my way and made the best of them,” Mendes says unapologetically.

Playing an unattractive character in Girl In Progress: It’s a first step, albeit a small one, in transforming a big-screen sex symbol to respected actress on par with, say, Julianne Moore and Annette Bening, her idols. “I have a girl crush on them,” Mendes admits. “I’d kill to have half the careers they’ve had after 40.”

Boundaries: They are “necessary not just to be a celebrity, but to be a healthy individual.”

Workout: “I run four to five times a week, mixing it up among distance running, intervals on a track, and running uphill on a treadmill.”

Diet: “I don’t eat meat and stopped eating chicken — my skin has gotten a lot better.”

Hair: “I have big, wavy, crazy hair, so it works best for me when I let it be. Here’s a trick I learned from my mother: If your hair is a little greasy and you don’t have the time to shampoo, put some baby powder at the roots and at the ends. It gives you that ’70s textured look.”

Imperfections and body image: “I feel it’s important to let women know that I have similar struggles. What I tell girls is what they don’t like about themselves now, they will probably end up loving as an adult, because that’s what happened to me,” Mendes says. “When I am complimented on things that I didn’t like when I was 13, like my overbite and my mole, that’s when you realize that your imperfections are why people love you.”

[From Marie Claire]

Eva also says something about Ryan Gosling in the magazine – she described working with him on The Place Beyond the Pines, saying, “He’s your dream costar. I have never felt so creatively satisfied on a film.” What about other kinds of satisfaction? Well, as many of you pointed out yesterday, Eva is in Bangkok, visiting Ryan as he works on a new film:

Does absence makes the heart grow fonder? Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling didn’t wait to find out! Eva traveled 8,000 miles to see her boyfriend, who is on location filming Only God Forgives in Bangkok, and Life & Style has all the details on their reunion.

“They walked hand in hand to dinner at Japanese restaurant Nippon Kai on Feb. 2,” an eyewitness tells Life & Style. “They were very quiet and everyone left them alone. And in person Eva is even more beautiful!”

The next night, the lovebirds continued to lay low by catching a movie together at the Paragon Cineplex.

“There were so many people there, but they looked like they were with a translator,” a second eyewitness tells Life & Style. “They didn’t try to hide themselves. Ryan was wearing a T-shirt and jeans while Eva wore a white dress.”

Obviously Ryan has more to offer than a movie ticket, so on Feb. 3 he took Eva out on the town to WTF Bar and Gallery – and surprised patrons and bartenders by not making a fuss or calling ahead of time.

“They just walked right in without making a scene. Eva sipped Red Bull while Ryan drank tequila,” says someone who sat near them. Adds another onlooker, “They were talking about documentaries!”

[From Life & Style]

Ah, you see. Eva won’t be letting go any time soon. This is the first time she’s ever been in a high-profile relationship, and I think she likes the attention it brings her. We’ll see how all of this plays out, though. I’ve really got to wonder what Ryan’s game is here.

Photos courtesy of Marie Claire.

I’m not even going to recap some of dumb stories we’ve heard about Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes for several months now – just go to our Eva Mendes archives to review. Ever since every photo agency managed to get (posed) photos of Eva and Ryan in Paris over Thanksgiving, the speculation has been non-stop. What’s interesting is that the speculation seems to have one larger storyline: Ryan is deeply in love with Eva, he’s really serious about her, he wants to marry her, and Eva just sees him as a cute boy to bone. Incidentally, did we ever give them a joined name? Ryva? Evan? Gosdes? Menling?

Now Eva and Ryan – MENLING – have taken their very first tabloid cover. Who is pushing these stories? I don’t get it. Is it Team Eva? Or is it Team Ryan? Perhaps it’s some grand conspiracy involving flannel shirt manufacturers, liquor companies and Disneyland. Life & Style is all up on Menling/Ryva this week, explaining how Eva managed to capture everybody’s favorite hipster boyfriend:

Going from Ryan Gosling’s co-star in The Place Beyond the Pines to the actor’s serious girlfriend in a matter of months, Eva Mendes has become the envy of every girl by snagging Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor!

“Ryan is obsessed — he wants to see Eva all the time,” a friend tells Life & Style. “I don’t know what it is about her, but he’s into Eva hook, line and sinker!”

In the new issue of Life & Style — on newsstands now — the passionate relationship is chronicled from the couple’s instant chemistry on set to late-night make out sessions and exotic trips — Ryan swept Eva off her feet in Paris over Thanksgiving and introduced her to his mom, Donna, on New Year’s Day. And now Ryan’s even thinking marriage!

“Even when the cameras weren’t rolling, they were really affectionate with each other,” Nicole Sykes, who was an extra on the Altamont, N.Y., set of The Place Beyond the Pines on Aug. 19, tells Life & Style about the couple’s instant connection. “Eva was kissing Ryan’s head and cuddling with him while they sat on the ground. You could tell that she really liked him.”

Friends say Ryan is head over heels. “Eva’s wildly passionate and impulsive. He thinks of her as the female version of himself,” a friend tells Life & Style. But the friend adds that his protective mom and close-knit family are cautioning Ryan to put the brakes on his whirlwind affair.

“Ryan’s family is worried; Eva’s so LA,” shares the friend. “She’s so into the business and not a super-warm person.” And while Ryan has hopes for marriage in his future, by Eva’s own admission, Ryan may be setting himself up for disappointment with her. “I don’t believe in the institution of marriage,” Eva has said.

[From Life & Style]

Jezebel had a few more details from the cover story – apparently, when Eva first met Ryan, “she played it cool… getting to know him gradually.” Neither of them like fancy bars or restaurants, “they prefer grubby food and dive bars.” Amongst the biggest relationship problems? Eva chain-smokes and Ryan’s mom still compares all of his girlfriends to Rachel McAdams, and all of the non-Rachels come across badly by comparison.

Meanwhile, I really am wondering what the angle is. I simply don’t buy that Ryan met drunk-faced Eva, fell head over heels in love with her, and is preparing to spend the rest of his life cleaning out her ashtrays. Certainly, there’s an angle I haven’t explored, right?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

As we keep hearing, Ryan Gosling is completely IN LOVE with Eva Mendes, his girlfriend of about six months or so. Eva has met his mother. They spent the holidays together. They did a pap-friendly walk together in Paris. He records himself singing Eva’s favorite songs and then gifts her with the tapes. All in all, this relationship does seem to be moving fast, and Eva has managed to last much longer than Ryan’s usual Disneyland-Dong-and-Done relationships. How did Eva managed to avoid the fast track to become one of Ryan’s longer relationships since he and Rachel McAdams split? Is it because her PR game is really good and every week we hear more and more about how Ryan is SO in love with her? Unknown. But here’s this week’s story – according to sources, Ryan wants to propose! And Eva isn’t into it.

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes were hanging out with friends at the Bowery Hotel in NYC on New Year’s. When Eva got up from the table, Ryan was overheard telling a friend his real feelings for Eva – “Ryan said he thinks Eva is ‘the one.’ He couldn’t stop smiling.”

Ryan has finally met the woman he wants to settle down with, and insiders say he can’t wait to pop the question. But Eva may very well be the one woman on the planet who’d say “No.” Though she’s all for long-term relationships, Eva has no interest in getting hitched, calling marriage “very old-fashioned.” And a friend admits it’s doubtful that even super sexy Ryan can get her to think differently.

“Eva’s a great girlfriend,” says the friend. “But she has no intention of being anyone’s wife.”

Making matters worse, Ryan is desperate to start a family – but Eva has no desire to be a mom.

“Eva told Ryan that she loves him but will never change her mind about getting married or having kids.”

But despite all of the warning signs, Ryan is forging ahead with his plan to put a ring on it. “Ryan really wants this to work,” another pal tells In Touch.

[From In Touch Weekly, print edition]

The last time we discussed this couple, I blasted Ryan as the self-styled “cool RA” type. To clarify (for the non-Americans), in American colleges and universities, the RA (resident assistant) is the older student who gets paid to basically be a friend/advisor/baby-sitter to, say, a floor of younger students. Ryan lives in a small fishbowl where he is the “cool RA” – younger girls worship him and think that he’s the romantic hero (or anti-hero) of their dreams. Older gals see Ryan as an adorable boy-toy with substance. Now, do I think Eva would really turn Ryan down if he proposed? Probably not. That being said, I don’t think he’s going to propose. This is just a phase for him. I hope.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News and WENN.

There’s so much I don’t understand about being a celebrity. Like, I understand the idea behind “candid” photo ops, and the industry of celebrity accessibility. Lord knows, I love candid shots of many celebrities, and lord knows, many celebrities want us to pay attention to them when they’re “off the clock”. But the cameras and the attention can be too much, of course. And I’m sure that in these photos, Ryan Gosling was probably being swarmed by photographers in a New York airport (JFK?). I’m sure the flashes were bothering him, and he simply didn’t feel like being photographed as he returned from the holidays (or whatever).

But… but… but… why is Gosling so upset that he’s been photographed? Especially considering he and Eva Mendes pretty much rolled out the red carpet and made out for the paparazzi while they were in Paris over Thanksgiving. And that’s the part I don’t get – why basically pose for a photo shoot with your girlfriend in Paris, and then a month later, act like you’re too “private” to be photographed at the airport? Ryan and Eva made a “Funny or Die” video together, for the love of God. But we’re still being sold the image that Gosling is “private” and that he’s just not used to this kind of attention. BS. He’s a Hollywood player at this point, and he knows how to manipulate his own media.

Of course, maybe he was just being followed by some really annoying photographers in these pics. Or maybe he should just put the magazine down and accept that if he’s going to pose for photos with his girlfriend in Paris, anything goes.

Also – I love his leather bag. I want it. I don’t want him, but I’ll take the bag.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

About a month ago, I discussed the working theory I had about Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, and I was surprised with how many of you cosigned. My theory is basically that Ryan realized that he had spent the last year taking many, MANY women to “Disneyland” (in his pants) and he was starting to seem like a Gerard Butler-esque womanizer. So Ryan decided that he just needed to settle down for a bit, have a real girlfriend and a real relationship, just so he wouldn’t destroy his fanbase of women who think he’s boyfriend material (when really he’s just one-night-stand material). So, Ryan and Eva Mendes happened. And they keep happening, in public. We’re getting lots of tabloid stories about Eva and Ryan being loved up (Ryan thinks Eva is The One!), and Ryan and Eva even did a Funny or Die video together:

So, it’s not like they’re being low-key. Every photo agency got pics of their saunter around Paris during Thanksgiving, and *somebody* is really trying to get and maintain interest in Gosling and Mendes as a couple. Anyway, this Us Weekly story is just a little thing, but it really annoyed me to see Ryan and Eva described as “private”. Bitch, please.

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes ditched their low-key MO when they got under the covers to play husband and wife for Funny or Die’s December 20 “Drunk History Christmas” video.

“It was fun watching this couple that’s so private be so affectionate,” says a source. “They were getting into the spirit.”

A source close to Mendes, 37, says she’s thrilled to be wooed by Gosling, 31. “He even sings covers of her favorite songs and sends them to her.”

[From Us Weekly, print edition]

“He even sings covers of her favorite songs and sends them to her.” OMG. Gosling is That Guy. AAAARRRGH. NO. I would have fallen for that move when I was 18 years old. Eva is two decades past that, and she’s still falling for it? Dear God, how drunk is she? And now I think less of Gosling, taping himself making cover versions of “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” whilst wearing his hipster ensembles, sitting beside his mohawked, hipster dog on a retro bean bag. Gosling is That Guy. That Guy needs to sack up and move beyond these “I’m the cool RA that all of the freshman girls have a crush on” moves. You’re 31 years old, Ryan. You are not the cool RA.

Photos courtesy of PCN, screencaps of Funny or Die video.

Perhaps it’s appropriate that year-end lists signal the death of every single year, but they really don’t mean anything in the end. Such is the case with two new “honors” that have been bestowed upon Ryan Gosling, who has been named “Best Dressed Man of 2011″ by HuffPo Style. We’ll get back to that title a bit later with a review of his 2011 red-carpet and press-friendly looks, but he’s shown in the above photo at January’s VH1 awards dressed in what is symptomatic of his main style disease — pairing a suit with either a v-neck or unbuttoned shirt, which looks really sleazy (as well as very 1980s) in my opinion. Obviously, Gosling’s fans (who held a protest in his honor after he wasn’t named Sexiest Man of the Year) would disagree with my assessment, which is perfectly okay. Like I said, we’ll get back to the style issue in a moment.

Secondly, Time has named Gosling 2011 Coolest Person of the Year because he is “tough but emotional” in manner of Marlon Brando. In doing so, Time admits that it bypassed the likes of SEAL Team 6, Melissa McCarthy, Julian Assange, and Zach Galifianakis. Well, I guess that Time didn’t get Gosling’s own memo that he is neither handsome nor cool:

Our Coolest Person Committee was determined to pick someone whose cool was tested and pervasive, obvious even to the dorks who work at this magazine. We defined cool in the classic Marlon Brando way an unshakable calm mixed with a confidence that comes from not needing others. Cool is more how than what; we considered world leaders, singers, hackers and a newsmagazine columnist who one of us thought was an obvious pick.

Ryan Gosling, the 2011 Coolest Person of the Year, is so cool that he refused to talk to me about this honor. Faced with this problem, other magazine franchises might back down and pick someone willing to play ball and be their publicity monkey, but the Coolest Person Committee is committed to the truth. Also, it was getting really close to deadline, so it just seemed a lot easier to stick with Gosling.

Yes, he was a Mouseketeer alongside Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. And yes, he puts on a weird Brooklyn accent even though he’s from Canada. Yes, he was homeschooled and sometimes hangs out with magicians. But he’s so cool, he wears all of that proudly. Even more impressive, he found time to be cool while having to constantly explain to people that, no, the guy they’re thinking of is Ryan Reynolds. Gosling was in four movies this year, yet he didn’t seem overexposed because he was always so different. In Blue Valentine he was desperate, in Drive he was scary, in The Ides of March he was slimy, and in Crazy, Stupid, Love he was six-packy. (The committee saw just the trailers.)

“There is not a genre he is not comfortable in,” says Coolest Person Committee member Henry Winkler. “Cool is being comfortable in your own skin. Everything stems from that.” Coolest Person of the Year Emeritus James Franco says, “Ryan is the true king of cool. You got it right this year.” Let’s hope that Gosling doesn’t wind up hosting the Oscars.

[From Time]

While that’s a sweet little (not to mention very timely and appropriate) James Franco joke at the end, I have to disagree with Gosling as the “coolest.” Maybe the characters that he plays are cool (and some of them are), but any guy that lets his dog pee in yoga class and generally acts like a poseur is not “cool.” Then again, we’re talking about a silly year-end award in name only, and since Gosling didn’t respond to Time‘s request for comment, maybe he is slightly cool after all.

Now back to this strange “Best Dressed” title. I’ll reckon that Gosling did well at Cannes this year as a matter of style. While his look didn’t exactly appeal to me, these year-end-fashion lists tend to favor the unconventional look, and the shiny blue and matte maroon suits along with the Don Johnson pajama photocall look fit right in with that state of mind:

June saw Gosling promoting Drive at the L.A. film festival. He looked alright, but I’m guessing that he scored some extra style points for the black velvet shoes paired with red socks:

In July, Gosling was promoting Crazy, Stupid, Love and looked the part of a romcom king during promotion. In other words, skeevy as hell:

In September, Gosling started to promote Ides of March, and his style became noticeably more bland. Admittedly, he may have been trying to fit in better next to George Clooney, who might as well wear the same suit to all events and premieres:

Then in November, Gosling acquired his most important fashion accessory of all, Eva Mendes.

By the way, Eva and Ryan just did a FunnyOrDie video together. It’s not really that funny, and I guess this means they are officially a “serious” couple?

Photos courtesy of WENN

Why do I keep forgetting that Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are a couple? We have all of these convenient photos of them together, taken conveniently during their Thanksgiving holiday in Paris, and they’re conveniently starring together in an as-yet-unreleased film. Why do I keep forgetting that? Maybe it’s because Ryan has been single or single-ish for so long, and I’ve got the mindset that he’ll be taking his latest piece to Disneyland any moment now? Maybe it’s because I think Ryan isn’t so much “in love” with Eva, but he just realized that his Disneyland whore parade probably wasn’t keeping his female fan base happy? Or is Eva the one pushing this relationship? That’s what Star Mag would have us believe – they claim that Eva is totally into Gosling and he’s all “meh.”

On the menu for Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes: plenty of PDA! Golsing, 31, and Eva, 37, were simply sizzling during a dinner date at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge on Dec. 2.

“They were making out during their meal and also outside the eatery,” an observor tells Star. The passionate evening follows a lovey-dovey late-November trip to Paris. But since they’ve only been dating since September, is it all too much, too soon – for Ryan at least?

“Eva was more touchy and affectionate than Ryan,” says the observor. “He looks into her, but she seems even more into him.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Sure, I’ll buy that. I think Ryan plays at the wide-eyed puppy-love stuff, but he’s probably not all that affectionate and romantic when it comes down to it. Anyway, In Touch has a story about Ryan and Eva too – apparently, Ryan’s friends don’t care for Eva, and they all hope he’ll get back with Rachel McAdams. Code Red: Ryan Gosling’s friends are all chicks who have seen The Notebook too many times.

Ryan Gosling sure seems happy with new love Eva Mendes, but it looks like his buddies aren’t quite as overjoyed. A friend tells In Touch that Ryan’s pals haven’t warmed up to Eva and hope he will rekindle his romance with Rachel McAdams, whome he dated for more than three years before they split in 2008.

They like Rachel a lot more – she was as close to Ryan’s friends as she was to Ryan himself.

“She’s fun and a fellow Canadian,” the pal says.

[From In Touch Weekly, print edition]

Yeah, I guess I’m one of the few people that actually LIKES Michael Sheen and Rachel McAdams together. I hope Rachel and Michael are solid, and I hope they get married some day soon. They seem like a “real” couple – she’s pretty and family-oriented, he’s intelligent and eccentric and talented. Sorry, Notebook-fiends, but I prefer Rachel with Michael. It seems like an adult relationship, as opposed to whatever boy-drama Ryan has going on.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here are some more photos of Ryan Gosling on the set of Gangster Squad to update from the last batch. He’s a pretty handsome guy, and I can definitely see what all the fuss is about even if he doesn’t really float my boat. I think it goes back not so much to watching him on “Mickey Mouse Club” (because I didn’t really watch much Disney in my own youth) but more of memories from his stint on “Breaker High.” To me, he still looks like the same young pseudo punk, and there’s still too much “eau de faking it” to be found in Gosling’s demeanor. Sure, he’s a fine actor and looks great in motion, but I can’t help but feel uneasy when checking out these freeze frame shots like he’s trying to pull a fast one on the entirety of the world:

Maybe it’s just me though or perhaps it’s the whole nice guy who does ballet and just wants to find The One while he simultaneously tries to hide his DUI past and lets his bad dog pee in the corner at yoga class routine. It just bugs, you know? Here’s more of Ryan with co-star Josh Brolin, who is a legitimate badass (not necesarily a good thing in real life either) and looks completely natural in these shots:

At the moment, however, Ryan is promoting something besides Gangster Squad, which is still filming. Maybe he’s kickstarting his own personal Oscar campaign or thinking of dumping Eva Mendes and taking some other chick to Disneyland. No telling what he’s up to really, but Ryan has dredged up his 2004 turn in The Notebook (the adaptation of yet another schmaltzy Nicholas Sparks novel). Ryan wants us all to know that he wasn’t cast for his good looks; on the contrary, he asserts that the role arrived courtesy of his “regular guy” nature and the fact that he is neither “handsome” or “cool.” Um, okay:

Millions of women and men would disagree with director Nick Cassavetes — who cast a then-unknown Ryan Gosling in The Notebook because, well, he wasn’t that cute.

Now one of the most sought-after hunks in Hollywood, the Drive actor, 31, was just a Mickey Mouse Club alum and indie movie actor when Cassavetes was casting for his now-beloved 2004 romantic film.

“The director, Nick Cassavetes, called me to meet him at his house,” Gosling tells British magazine Company. “When I got there, he was standing in his back yard, and he looked at me and said, ‘I want you to play this role because you’re not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You’re not handsome. you’re not cool, you’re just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts.’”

Gosling went on to star in the smash film opposite fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams — whom he dated and was briefly engaged to.

And despite his leading man status today, Gosling tells the mag he grew up a “lonely child. I didn’t do well at school and TV was my only friend.”

It was watching the small screen that inspired him to go Hollywood himself. “Then, one day, I saw Raquel Welch on The Muppet Show. She was dancing with this big furry spider and I immediately fell in love. She was the first crush I ever had, and I thought, ‘How do I get to meet this woman?’ And then I thought, ‘Well, she’s on TV, so to meet her I have to get on TV myself.’”

[From Us Magazine]

So basically, Ryan is pushing the image of being a lonely child and an ugly duckling that was pushed out of his shell after becoming enraptured with the likes of Raquel Welch, who is completely gorgeous and a very glamorous sex symbol in her own right. Yet she’s not the typical crush for a budding young actor, right? Hmm.

Photos courtesy of Fame

Bradley Cooper is currently People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. They just decided to give him that in lieu of handing over his “Your Publicist Is The Best This Year” Award. Immediately after Bradley was named SMA, “protesters” (“losers”) picketed People Magazine’s NYC headquarters, demanding that the Sexiest Man Alive designation should be given to Ryan Gosling. Now… look, I think B.Coop was a bad choice too, and I think Michael Fassbender should be declared the Sexiest Man EVER, but I’m not going to, like, leave my house and protest about it. I’ll just sit at home and write my slash fiction about Fassy and Brad Pitt (for my own personal use). Where was I going with this…? Oh, right. One of the weird things about B.Coop’s SMA title is that he doesn’t even seem to “get” it, and he spends half of his time Single White Female-ing other actors (like he did with Fassbender in London), or openly crushing on other, sexier dudes (like Gosling). Here are some new quotes from Bradley where he discusses his man-crush on Gosling:

Bradley Cooper admits Ryan Gosling is one of the reasons he doesn’t feel like People’s Sexiest Man Alive.

“There was such a backlash to when they announced it and Ryan Gosling, who I love and I just did a movie with him — he’s the greatest — but we were both in Paris this last week and a friend of mine showed me … photographs from the paparazzi — and when I say friend, I mean me, alone in my room, looking at the computer. And it’s like him walking around and he literally looks like he’s in a photoshoot, like he just came off the runway, like the pea coat is like this with the scarf,” Bradley recounted on “The Graham Norton Show” in the UK over the weekend.

“There are ones of me, and I literally look like the neighbor who never really comes out of his house, and when he does, you’re like, ‘Maybe you should just stay in.’ We don’t know what he does in there. So it’s been interesting.”

Bradley jokingly called being named the Sexiest Man, “the worst,” adding, “it’s just so awful.”

He also revealed the title has made him rethink every day activities.

“I’m finally at an age — I’m 36 years old — where I really don’t care about anything like that anymore, which is a wonderful thing and then this happened and then I started to realize just how not sexy I am,” he said.

“I have a lot of moments where [I’m] walking out and I’ll open up the door [and think to myself], ‘I could do that a lot sexier,’” he laughed.

In related news, Bradley, who was promoting the UK DVD release of “The Hangover Part II,” said he expects to start shooting the third installment in the film franchise next fall.

“I personally want to do it. I hope we’re gonna start shooting in September. [Director, co-writer] Todd Phillips is working on the script,” Bradley said.

The actor also noted the film will likely diverge from the first two vacation-buddy comedies.

“I think it’ll take place in Los Angeles and maybe not adhere to the structure. It might be different,” he explained.

[From MSNBC]

I LOL’d at “And when I say friend, I mean me, alone in my room, looking at the computer…” Because that’s funny, and I honestly, can’t you picture B.Coop sitting around, obsessing over F–k Yeah Ryan Gosling?

Oh, and do we really need another Hangover movie? Wasn’t the second one just the exact same plot, only it was set in Thailand?

Photos courtesy of WENN.