Ryan Gosling's first meeting with Burt Reynolds didn't go as planned. On "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" he discussed his early acting days with Reynolds during the 1996 film ‘Frankenstein and Me’. Reynolds gave him peculiar advice: "Let me tell you something kid, Don't spend your whole life stepping over diamonds to live with a cubic zirconia." Gosling, confused at 13, said, "I don't know what any of those things are. Stop looking at my mom. I'm right here."
Gosling revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that his time with Reynolds was complicated. Initially, he thought Reynolds was interested in him, but it turned out the attention was aimed at his attractive mother, Donna. "It was like I was getting like a secondary shine. The real shine was for my mom. And I was like, ‘Oh, this is secondary shine.’"
Kimmel inquired how long it took for Gosling to realize this. Gosling wished he had realized sooner but mentioned his mother enjoyed the attention, though nothing further happened. Kimmel humorously suggested, "You could have been Ryan Reynolds on the acting scene had that worked out!"
Gosling seems well-grounded about life priorities. In a recent Men's Health interview, he pondered his future, focusing on what matters most. He said, "It always comes back to family first."
He further expressed his perspective on life and family: "I don’t think I’ll regret anything professionally, but I do think when it comes to Eva [Mendes] and the girls, they come first. It’s probably not a good thing that I go deathbed, but it’s helpful for me," acknowledging how this thought process helps him prioritize.
Gosling and Mendes have not confirmed their marital status but have been together for 13 years and have two daughters, Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 7.
Gosling's latest film, "The Fall Guy," hits theaters May 3.
