Droves upon droves of parents struggle with work-life balance — heck, a lot of people without kids have a difficult time finding an equilibrium between personal and professional endeavors. But for Ryan Gosling, his daughters served as a catalyst to help him foster a healthier work-life balance than he’d ever had before fatherhood, and his break from acting was integral to harnessing that delicate harmony.
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During an interview for GQ’s Global Summer Issue, for which Gosling is the cover star, the Barbie actor shared that his decision to take a 4-year hiatus from acting came after the birth of his and Eva Mendes’ second daughter. “I wanted to spend as much time as I could with them,” the dad of two explained.
After he returned to set to film The Gray Man, which debuted on Netflix in 2022, Gosling realized the break from Hollywood did him more good than he may have ever anticipated. “I treat it more like work now, and not like it’s, you know, therapy,” he shared. “It’s a job, and I think in a way that allows me to be better at it because there’s less interference.”
His girls — 8-year-old Esmeralda and 7-year-old Amada — also partly inspired him to audition for the upcoming Barbie movie, ultimately securing the iconic role of Ken. Explaining that he “kind of responds to scripts” that prioritize female characters and the female gaze (we love a feminist girl dad), Gosling added that the toy aspect also reeled him in. He joked about his daughters’ Ken doll, sharing, “I did see him, like, face down in the mud outside one day, next to a squished lemon, and it was like, This guy’s story does need to be told, you know?” We love him more and more by the minute.
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He Never Really Saw Himself as a Dad — Until He Did
Image Credit: Sonia Recchia/Getty Images. Making his fatherhood journey all the sweeter, Gosling admitted that he never necessarily thought about becoming a dad — until a certain actress came along.
The Notebook icon initially explained that the first moment he pictured himself as a dad was when “Eva said she was pregnant.” He added, “I would never want to go back, you know? I’m glad I didn’t have control over my destiny in that way, because it was so much better than I ever had dreamed for myself.”
Later in the interview, he circled back to clarify and expand on his initial comments (something he’s apparently endearingly known for doing). “When you asked me about Eva and kids, I think I said, I didn’t think about kids until she told me she was pregnant. That’s not really true,” he said.
“I didn’t want to overshare, but now I also don’t want to misrepresent,” he explained, continuing, “I mean, it’s true that I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her.”
Gosling, who met Mendes on the set of their 2013 movie The Place Beyond the Pines, sweetly shared, “There were moments on [set] where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore. I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have.” Be still, our beating hearts. The romance of it all!
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Leaning On Eva
Image Credit: Getty Images. Although they’ve never married, Gosling and Mendes have been together since they met on that fated movie set in 2011. Over a decade later, the Hitch actress is still his rock and guiding light. The Crazy Stupid Love star explained that when he doesn’t know what to do as a parent, he can “just lean on Eva.”
“She knows what’s important, always. She just somehow knows,” Gosling shared. “So if ever I’m in my head about [parenthood], I just ask her.”
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Mom & Dad Go on a Career Break
Image Credit: Getty Images. After welcoming their daughters in 2014 and 2016, Mendes opted to put a pause on her career as well. In October 2022, the 2 Fast 2 Furious star set the record straight on her acting hiatus, explaining on her Instagram Story that she “never quit acting.” Mendes continued, “I wanted to be home with my babies and fortunately my other business ventures allowed me to do that more than acting would.”
The actress also expressed a similar perspective shift on parenthood as that of Gosling’s account, sharing during a 2020 radio interview, “I never wanted babies before until I fell in love with Ryan, and it kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby.” Mendes added, “I think I was 42 for the second one, so it worked out in that way that I had a career and then I changed my focus to my family.”
These two are the epitome of a couple on the same page, through and through!
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