There is no way you didn’t love him in The Notebook or miss that this guy hits the gym in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Beyond rom-coms, though, he’s one of the best actors in Hollywood. Here are four Ryan Gosling movies and the locations where they were filmed, along with where you may just get a Ryan sighting.
Location: Venice Beach, CA
The Film: Barbie
We fell in love with him more than a decade ago when his first hits like The Notebook came out. But Ryan Gosling still has it. At 40, he will star as Ken in the new Barbie movie alongside Margot Robbie, coming in July 2023. The Greta Gerwig film supposedly follows a less-than-perfect Barbie as she embarks on a journey into “humanland.” Everyone knows the story of Barbie, but her beau, Ken, will see his story fleshed out for the first time in the new movie.
And where else would Barbie be than a place like Venice Beach. It’s extravagant, it’s eccentric, and it’s where anyone can be whoever they want. The 70s and 80s aesthetic of Barbieland blends in seamlessly with the Venice Beach crowd. During filming, people flocked to the boardwalk to see Robbie and Gosling roller skate and skateboard in bright neons. The filming certainly amplified nostalgia for leotards and leg warmers. There’s no doubt, Venice Beach is one fun Ryan Gosling film location.
Fun fact: Venice Beach was designed by tobacco mogul and conservationist Abbot Kinney in 1905 to be a resort town that rivals Venice, Italy. The boardwalk thus has a certain larger-than-life character meant to draw adventurous travelers to the West Coast. Barbie further brings out the eccentricity of the beach town. Interestingly, Gosling’s version of Ken has no job, no goals, and no prospects and will challenge the notion that success is measured superficially.
Location: Prague
The Film: The Gray Man
If you are a Netflix fiend, you’ve probably seen the latest action film starring Gosling, called the Gray Man. He plays a decidedly non-Ken-doll CIA agent who is on the run from a colleague, played by Chris Evans. Two of Hollywood’s hottest men starring together in the most expensive movie Netflix has ever greenlighted makes for some fascinating moments.
Though the film’s professional reviews are not great, it got a 9o-percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. We’re pretty sure that much of the positive reaction had to do with the actors and where the crew filmed. A good portion of the film takes place in Prague, which remarkably also doubles as Bangkok. The architecture in Prague is diverse, making it the perfect destination to shoot a variety of scenes. But the most important ones take place at the Negrelli Viaduct, a railway bridge that connects Prague with nearby Bubny.
The film features Prague as an evolving stage for Bond-inspired CIA combat, but the city is one of the friendliest you can visit. Not only will locals be happy to show you around, it’s also fairly affordable and easy to traverse with public transportation.
We also happen to love Prague, and recommend the Mandarin Oriental for your stay. We’ve gotten the lowdown from the head chef, as well, and can attest that the food at the hotel is superb.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
The Film: First Man
It might be ironic to include First Man, one of Ryan’s most recent films. The reason being that the movie is about Neil Armstrong and his journey to the moon. Of course, the film is mostly about the dangerous experiments undertaken by Armstrong and his team at NASA to make it to the moon in the 60s. The men who eventually ensured that Apollo 11 landed safely on the moon lived in Texas.
Though the action mostly takes place in space, it’s important to pay attention to the place that produced the legendary space team. The Georgia suburb used for filming is reminiscent of the town where Neil Armstrong grew up. The suburbs represent a facet of the identity of the country that has played a role in its history. And the neighborhood in the Roswell suburb served as the perfect place to tell his story.
You probably don’t want to stay in the burbs, but just a little ways away in South Carolina, Loutrel’s opening makes traveling south worth your while.
Location: Sydney, Australia
The Film: The Fall Guy
On our Ryan Gosling film location tour, the latest stop is Sydney, Australia, where the remake of the 80s show The Fall Guy is filming. Details about the film are still a little sketchy, but it’s based on the original series starring Lee Majors. Gosling’s main character is stuntman by day, bounty hunter by night, and gets into quite a bit of trouble along the way.
Locals say the actor altered his appearance for the role. If you go to Sydney now to see Ryan Gosling on set, you might observe a man with shoulder-length hair looking a little scruffy. But you’ll recognize him if he’s with his partner, Eva Mendez. The two have been renting Baz Luhrman’s mansion for the duration of filming. The mansion is a 19th-century, nine-bedroom palace in Darlinghurst surrounded by lawns and gardens. It also looks as if it can host the kind of parties that were featured in Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby. Hopefully Ryan and Eva are hosting.
For a little more on where to travel around Sydney, here’s where another leading man, Liam Hemsworth, likes to go.
