Ryan Gosling is having a pretty major awards season thanks to his bleach-blond, beach-loving take on Ken in the Barbie movie. He’s earned a 2024 Oscar nomination and numerous other nods for his instantly iconic performance. However, it was praise for another one of the actor’s projects, graciously given by legendary director Steven Spielberg, that may just stick out as a high point of Gosling’s year. And this is a truly sweet story.
It would seem that while the Golden Globes crowned its winners this past January, the Canadian actor, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, ran into fellow nominee Steven Spielberg. (The veteran filmmaker produced two of this year’s big awards contenders, Maestro and The Color Purple.) The actor told Variety how, though he had never met the iconic filmmaker before, that didn’t stop Spielberg from showering him with compliments about his new film, The Fall Guy:
I saw Steven Spielberg walking in my direction. I don’t know Steven Spielberg. I thought there’s no way he’s coming to talk to me. And yet he kept getting closer, and then I thought I know what’s going to happen. I’m going to point to him, and he’s going to go, ‘Not you, behind you,’ so I’m not going to do that. Finally I said, ‘Me?’ and he goes, ‘Yeah you.’ I go, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t think you were coming to talk to me.’ And I stood up and he gave me a hug and said, ‘I just saw ‘Fall Guy’ and I loved it.’
Ryan Gosling’s Barbie follow-up sees him playing Colt Seavers, a past-his-prime action choreographer who is working on a film directed by his ex, Jody Moreno (played by fellow 2024 Academy Award nominee Emily Blunt). It’s at that time that the lead star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), goes missing, and Colt volunteers to find him. Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, Hannah Waddingham and Teresa Palmer round out the star-studded cast of The Fall Guy.
The action comedy won’t be released in theaters until early May as part of the 2024 movie schedule but, clearly, Steven Spielberg has a couple of ins in Hollywood and got to see it early. And that early-access praise from the Oscar-winning director was an “all time moment” for the Nice Guys actor, as he told the trade:
As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t matter anymore what happens. Steven Spielberg liked it. That was an all time moment for me. I’m really excited for people to see it. I think it’s a really special movie.
Ryan Gosling isn’t the only one who admitted to getting a little verklempt in the mere presence of the acclaimed director. Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki recently shared the sweet moment in which he met the Fabelmans filmmaker for the first time at the 96th Oscars Nominees Luncheon, calling him “a god” and revealing that Mr. Spielberg is a big fan of his 2023 Japanese epic.
So is this the beginning of a beautiful cinematic friendship? Will we get to see Ryan Gosling directed by Steven Spielberg anytime soon? We’ll be keeping an eye on that ever-growing list of upcoming Steven Spielberg movies for a potential Gosling sighting just in case! In the meantime, know that you can look forward to seeing The Fall Guy when it hits theaters on May 3!