10 Amazing Performances That Turned Teen Idols Into Legitimate Actors

5. Ryan Gosling - The Believer

Ryan Gosling was part of the group of young actors in the early 90s who rode to success on the back of really solid Canadian children's programming. After starring on The Mickey Mouse Club (alongside Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Keri Russell, Christina Aguilera, to name just a few), he appeared in a number of other kids shows. The blond actor, who even back then had obvious talent and a commanding screen presence, quickly made it to the big time with a leading role on Young Hercules. So how do you move away from that and transition into serious thespian mode? The obvious choice is to play the most contradictory of all people, the Jewish anti-Semite. Gosling starred in The Believer, a small independent film which put him on a lot of casting directors' radar. More prestigious films followed, including The United States Of Leland and Murder By Numbers, and while The Notebook forced a quick detour back into teen star territory, he's since evolved from that. Rather than being every teen girl's crush like he was in the early 2000s, now he's the super-talented, sensitive actor who is attractive but also takes his craft seriously and consistently attaches himself to really interesting projects.