A Brief History of Celebrities Who Just Can't Help Themselves Around Ryan Gosling

More often than not, Ryan Gosling is a walking meme. His very presence is like one giant “Hey Girl.” Even when he is simply standing there, minding his own business, he’s being all Gosling-y, what with his sensitive eyes and his knowing smirk and that freaking hair. 

So it’s understandable that sometimes other, non-Ryan Gosling humans who find themselves around Ryan Gosling simply do not behave normally. Reality, and most social norms, go straight out the window. A person is no longer in charge of their faculties, and their limbs and facial expressions act as though independent of their brain; their brain that is now mush because they can’t stop staring right into his eyes. 

Fellow celebrities aren’t immune from this affliction—in fact, they are even more susceptible on account of their frequent run-ins with the star. 

It might be easy to assume that one A-lister could cool it around another A-lister. After all, they’re all famous! They’re all beautiful! They’re all successful! They know each other for Pete’s sake. These people have met the Obama family and been perfectly composed, so what’s a run-in with a Gosling? 

Apparently, it’s everything. 

Just look at last night. The beyond venerable Meryl Streep, who is still fresh off of delivering an incredibly impressive speech, completely lost control of her faculties around Ryan. He looked so cute that she just needed to ooh and ahh and scratch him under the chin, but because he is a man and not a puppy that she settled for fixing his bow tie. 

But we can’t blame Meryl (can you ever blame Meryl for anything?), as she is not nearly the first actor to behave in such a manner. Just earlier this month, at the Golden Globes, Emma Stone felt the same inclinations, except that she actually did give him a few pets. He was being such a good boy, and looked so pretty, that he really deserved this pat. 

And then we have fellow Famous Ryan (Reynolds, that is) at the Critic’s Choice Awards. Reynolds is normally a very suave and composed man, assured of both his quick wit and his freakishly chiseled jawline. But this interaction proves that no face is angular or scruffy enough to compete with RyGos. Clearly what happened here is that a party photographer shoved Reynolds into Gosling, with some sort of directive about how the two Ryan’s facing off during award season should pose together. 

And, sadly, all Reynolds could come up with was a finger point. Sure, Gosling did the same, but his face is calm, cool and collected, as if to say, Hey girl, I look great in photos even when I do the finger-point. Reynolds, on the other hand, has a face that say, Holy crap can you believe I’m standing next to Ryan Gosling? And get a load of how good-looking his face is! Also, am I doing the finger-point? My vision is going fuzzy. 

But Reynolds shouldn’t be that embarrassed. Fellow A-list actor and occasional heartthrob Russell Crowe was so overwhelmed he could do nothing but hide. 

Respected television host Ellen DeGeneres has suffered likewise, unable to help herself on several occasions. Two times in recent history she has interviewed Ryan Gosling, and two times in recent history she has become so overwhelmed with emotion that she jumped into his arms. The first time, the glee on her face was palpable; you could feel the joy radiating off of her. 

The second occasion was just as much Gosling’s idea as it was hers. Clearly he realized he really enjoyed the feeling of celebrities not helping themselves around him, and found himself disappointed in an Ellen DeGeneres who held back. Luckily for both parties, it didn’t take much convincing for her to throw caution to the wind. 

And finally, there is one Jane Fonda. We don’t really know what would happen if the comedian found herself face-to-face with the real Ryan, but let’s just say we can think this picture provides all the evidence we really need.