Ryan Gosling brings his Ken-ergy to the Oscars race for Best Supporting Actor

Jacob Sarkisian
·5 min read
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Ryan Gosling is one of the biggest contenders for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar this year for his role as Ken in Greta Gerwig‘s smash hit “Barbie.” The Warner Bros. movie follows Margot Robbie‘s titular Barbie as she leaves Barbie Land for the real world in search of answers after suffering an existential crisis. Gosling’s performance as Ken has brought him plenty of plaudits, leading to a strong case for Best Supporting Actor in this year’s Oscars race.

However, this isn’t the first Oscars race Gosling has been in as he’s received two Academy Award nominations before. Let’s take a look back at them.

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Gosling was first nominated in 2007 when he received a Best Actor notice for “Half Nelson,” which follows Gosling as a junior high school teacher with a drug habit. Gosling’s teacher forms a friendship with one of his students after she finds out about his secret. The actor brings his wit and charm to the role along with a vulnerability that elevates the film and his performance.

Gosling actually had a patchy time during the precursors. He quickly became a critical darling and amassed plenty of nominations from critics groups. However, he missed out on a BAFTA bid and was snubbed by the Golden Globes, too. The BAFTAs nominated Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”), Daniel Craig (“Casino Royale”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Departed”), Peter O’Toole (“Venus”), and Richard Griffiths (“The History Boys”). He would have competed in the Best Drama Actor category at the Globes, which decided to nominate Whitaker, O’Toole, Will Smith (“The Pursuit of Happiness”), and DiCaprio twice (“The Departed” and “Blood Diamond”). Whitaker won at both groups.

Gosling was nominated at the Critics Choice Awards, however, alongside Whitaker, DiCaprio twice, O’Toole, and Smith. Again, Whitaker won. Gosling also got in at the SAG Awards, where Whitaker, DiCaprio, O’Toole, and Smith were also nominated. DiCaprio was recognized for “Blood Diamond” while Whitaker took home the SAG gong.

This meant that Gosling only went two out of four in the major precursors, so his Oscar nomination was no sure thing. Instead, the only locks were the obvious frontrunner Whitaker, who had won every major precursor, and O’Toole and DiCaprio, who were the only other two nominated at all four precursors. However, it wasn’t certain which film DiCaprio would get in for. In the end, the Academy Awards nominated Whitaker, O’Toole, Smith, DiCaprio (for “Blood Diamond”), and Gosling. Whitaker won the Oscar as expected, but Gosling’s nomination was a victory for him here.

Gosling was involved in another Best Actor Oscar race a decade later in 2017 when he received a bid for “La La Land.” Here, he played a jazz pianist trying to achieve his dreams in LA while falling for a hopeful actress (Emma Stone). Gosling sang and danced his way to an Oscar nomination with a performance demonstrating his easy, casual charm and captivating charisma to full effect. Again, he snagged a bunch of nominations from the critics and this time he was nominated at all four of the major precursors. At the Critics Choice Awards, he was nominated alongside Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”), Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”), Denzel Washington (“Fences”), Joel Edgerton (“Loving”), and Tom Hanks (“Sully”). Affleck took home the award. BAFTA mixed things up a little with their nominations, recognizing Affleck, Gosling, and Garfield alongside Viggo Mortensen (“Captain Fantastic”) and Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nocturnal Animals”). Again, Affleck won.

Affleck emerged victorious at the Golden Globes in the Best Drama Actor to strengthen his Oscar chances while Gosling won Best Comedy Actor. He won that award ahead of fellow nominees Colin Farrell (“The Lobster”), Hugh Grant (“Florence Foster Jenkins”), Jonah Hill (“War Dogs”), and Ryan Reynolds (“Deadpool”). The SAG Awards shook things up a little by awarding Washington the win where he was nominated alongside Affleck, Garfield, Mortensen, and Gosling. Gosling was one of three actors nominated at the four major precursor awards, meaning that his nomination was practically a lock. The other two were Affleck and Garfield. All three actors were nominated at the Oscars alongside Mortensen and Washington. It was Affleck who took home the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Gosling has been in the mix a couple of other times, too, including in 2008 when he picked up Critics Choice, Golden Globe, and SAG bids for Best Actor for “Lars and the Real Girl.” However, despite three major precursor nominations, he missed out on an Oscar nod. The eventual Oscar nominees for Best Actor that year were Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”), George Clooney (“Michael Clayton”), Johnny Depp (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”), Tommy Lee Jones (“In the Valley of Elah”), and Mortensen (“Eastern Promises”). Day-Lewis won.

Gosling has made some great early progress in this season’s awards race, however, securing Best Supporting Actor nominations at both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes. Both groups also nominated Charles Melton (“May December”), Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”), Robert De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), and Mark Ruffalo (“Poor Things”). The Critics Choice Awards also nominated Sterling K. Brown (“American Fiction”) while the Globes went with Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”) for their sixth spot.

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