Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone may not be each other’s love interests in real life – but they do have a very close friendship.
Gosling and Stone met during the audition for 2011’s Crazy, Stupid, Love. The film follows Jacob Palmer (Gosling) as he teaches new friend Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) while also unknowingly dating his daughter Hannah Weaver (Stone). The duo formed a close bond during their time on set, and ultimately teamed up once again for 2013’s Gangster Squad and 2016’s La La Land, which earned Stone a Best Actress award at the 2017 Oscars.
In September 2018, Stone gushed about her friendship with Gosling and how he will always hold a special place in her heart.
“I can’t even imagine what my life would be without Ryan,” she explained during a Q&A at the 45th annual Telluride Film Festival at the time. “He’s so special. He makes me emotional. He’s so talented but he’s such a great person to work with because he’s so collaborative and excited about the process. He’s taught me a lot about being really generous.”
Scroll down to see more sweet moments between Gosling and Stone:
Meeting on ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’
Gosling and Stone met during the audition process for Crazy, Stupid, Love, which was released in July 2011 and features the pair as love interests. Although the twosome were never romantically involved in real life, Gosling and Stone developed a fast friendship on set of the rom-com.
“She’s everything, all the time,” Gosling shared with MTV News at the Crazy, Stupid, Love premiere in July 2011. “There’s no one like her. As soon as she signed on for this movie, I knew it was going to be good. The whole film depends on my character giving it all up for her. When she came in the room, it all made sense. Show me someone that wouldn’t give it all up for Emma Stone, and I’ll show you a liar.”
Stone, for her part, said she immediately “felt a kinship” with Gosling.
“It was like meeting a member of your team or something. I really like his brain,” Stone told Interview magazine in August 2012 on the pair’s first meeting.
Reuniting in ‘Gangster Squad’
Two years after the release of Crazy, Stupid, Love, Gosling and Stone reunited in Sean Penn’s mobster film, Gangster Squad. Gosling appeared as an easygoing playboy and cop named Sergeant Jerry Wooters who becomes victim to mob leader Mickey Cohen (Penn), while Stone starred as Grace Faraday, Cohen’s social etiquette teacher who falls in love with Wooters.
“I’m the luckiest girl in the world because of Wooters being played by Ryan,” Stone told Flicks and Bits in 2013. “That was a huge asset because he’s so fantastic at that kind of banter we share in the film, plus we get along really well.”
Gosling, for his part, echoed Stone’s statement, saying he loved “working with the same” people again but did admit it’s hard to focus around Stone.
“It’s tough with Emma because we are such knuckleheads, and we have to be serious,” he explained to Shortlist magazine in 2013. “Especially as we got to know each other on a comedy.”
A Third Team Up for ‘La La Land’
Gosling and Stone reunited once again in the 2016 movie musical La La Land. Stone starred as aspiring actress Mia who falls in love with aspiring musician Sebastian (Gosling) until their careers begin to threaten their budding romance.
Prior to award season kicking off, Stone spoke about how Gosling made her comfortable while learning ballroom dancing for the first time during filming.
“It makes it very easy when you know someone. To learn with someone you don’t know must be terrifying,” she explained in a November 2016 interview with Ellen DeGeneres. “But with him, I was just sweating all over him and felt fine about it. I sweat a lot … We would dance for about a minute and he’d be like, ‘You all right? You OK?’”
Sharing in the Success
The following year, the twosome couldn’t help but gush about each other in their award speeches.
“Ryan, you’re the best. That’s just the truth. No one can argue it,” Stone said in her SAG Award acceptance speech in January 2017. After Stone finished speaking, Gosling started blushing and covering his face.
At the Golden Globes that same month, Gosling took home the award for Best Actor – and couldn’t help but thank Stone.
“Damien [Chazelle] and Emma – this belongs to the three of us. I’ll chop it into three pieces if you want,” he joked. “I don’t really want to do that because who would get what piece .. it could tear us apart. But you understand. It’s ours.”
At the Oscars in February 2017, Stone won the award for Best Actress and honored Gosling in her speech.
“Ryan Gosling, thank you for making me laugh, and for always raising the bar, and for being the greatest partner on this crazy adventure,” she shared.
Gosling was also nominated for Best Actor that year, but was beat out by Casey Affleck for his role in Manchester by the Sea.
Post ‘La-La-Land’
Two years after the release of La La Land, Stone and Gosling’s friendship was still blooming. “I can’t imagine what my life would be without Ryan” Stone shared during a Q&A at the 45h annual Telluride Festival in September 2018.
Supporting Each Other
In December 2023, Stone praised Gosling for his role as Ken in the blockbuster hit comedy Barbie. (Gosling also earned an Oscar nod for his performance while Stone herself nabbed a nomination for her role in Poor Things.)
“I witnessed that Kenergy,” she joked to Access Hollywood in December 2023. “He really is Kenough. He did it. He really did it this time.”
Reuniting at the BAFTAs
While Stone was walking up to accept her award for Best Actress for Poor Things at the 2024 BAFTAs in February 2024, Gosling was caught clapping and winking at the actress.
A Couple of Kens
When Gosling performed the nominated song “I’m Just Ken” from his film Barbie at the 2024 Oscars, Stone was front row in the audience cheering for her longtime pal, even proving she knew all the lyrics when he came into the audience and pointed the mic her way. “I’m just Ken,” Gosling sang during the bridge, to which Stone replied, “And so am I!” (“I’m Just Ken” was nominated for Best Original Song at the awards show, while Stone received a Best Actress nod for her role in Poor Things.)
