Ryan Gosling is living out his dreams.
First, he’s facing off against Chris Evans in high-powered spy flick The Gray Man after having “always wanted to make an action movie,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the Netflix film’s premiere on Wednesday. “I finally got to do it.”
Though the movie is packed with stunt sequences, which he said were “challenging in the best way,” the film’s standout may very well be Evans’ mustache, which Gosling’s character refers to as a “trash ‘stache.”
What does Gosling himself think of Evans’ facial hair? He confirmed, “Those were my thoughts.”
Ryan Gosling agrees. “Trash ‘stache” is an accurate description for Chris Evans’ mustache in #TheGrayMan pic.twitter.com/SaZoiTCRpT
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 14, 2022
As for Gosling’s next career highlight, he’s hard at work on the Barbie movie, starring as Ken in instantly viral costume photos that have been captured during filming.
“I can’t wait for people to see the film, we’ve had so much fun and I can’t wait for everyone to have fun with us,” Gosling said of the Greta Gerwig project, and teased of the jean jacket, rollerblading and cowboy looks that fans have seen so far, “That’s nothing, by the way, there’s so much more to come.”
The costumes have quickly become this year’s Halloween favorites, which Gosling said is a longtime goal.
“This is my dream. I’ve always wanted to make a character that people might go out for Halloween as,” he said. “I was actually in an elevator the other day shooting Barbie and I was in my cowboy costume and a guy got in and he said, ‘You know, I’m going out as that for Halloween’ and it was a great moment.”
“I hope that’s true and I hope they have multiple choices,” Gosling continued. “I also saw that the tracksuit for Gray Man is looking like a good Halloween costume too. So many options, so many Halloween options!”
Ryan Gosling’s dreams are coming true – he can’t wait to see people dressed as Ken from #Barbie for Halloween pic.twitter.com/UfXWEz4wYi
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 14, 2022
Gosling and Evans are joined in The Gray Man by a starry cast, including Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Billy Bob Thorton, Alfre Woodard and Regé-Jean Page.
Page goes against his Bridgerton type to play one of the film’s bad guys, which he called “just disturbingly fun, just kind of releasing into, relishing how bad we could be on this set.”
And although the movie — which marks Netflix’s highest-budget project — is releasing on streaming, Page encouraged viewers to “watch it big.”
“Get your setup, get your speakers, get your friends together, get the popcorn, and just have it big and have it loud because it’s a big, loud movie and a thrill ride from beginning to end,” he said. “The reason I signed on was not only was it this white-knuckle adrenaline ride, but at all times it cared about making sure you had a good time. There is wit, there is fun — folks forget the Russos, yes they did Endgame; they also did Community. These guys are funny, so they’re engaged with making sure their audience is having a great time. It’s just a fun action summer flick.”
Regé-Jean Page says he found it “disturbingly fun” to play a villain in #TheGrayMan pic.twitter.com/fpyTXWUVbc
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 14, 2022
The Russo brothers explained that when looking for their leads, they knew Gosling and Evans would provide the ideal pairing.
“We adore Ryan, we’re obsessed with him just like the rest of the world for the past two decades,” said Joe Russo, noting “he has the right combination of physicality and humor — it’s tricky to find that in one actor. And Evans we adore, we’ve been working with him for 10 years now. We’d do every movie until we die with him.”
After directing Evans in multiple Marvel projects, Anthony Russo said the star shifting into the villain role was quite a change.
“Working with Chris as Captain America, he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. It’s a tough character; he’s very disciplined and focused and he’s carrying the weight of the movies he’s in usually, so it has a lot of responsibility in terms of performance,” the director said. “This movie, when Chris gets to play the villain, you don’t have to fulfill a lot of the responsibilities that a normal leading man does, or normal protagonist in the film. He just got to have a lot of fun. His character is all about making trouble and breaking things, and that’s basically what Chris did.”
The Russo brothers compare working with Chris Evans on #CaptainAmerica vs working with him on #TheGrayMan pic.twitter.com/R7JQslBqK6
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 14, 2022
And the brothers’ thoughts on the ‘stache?
“It’s a trash ‘stache, we’re not going to lie,” said Joe. “You could call it a trash ‘stache, you could call it a porn ‘stache.” But Anthony takes a contrasting view: “I think it’s a very distinguished-looking mustache, myself.”
The Gray Man starts streaming on Netflix July 22.