10 Best Movie Performances From Nameless Characters
4. Ryan Gosling As Driver – Drive
Memes aside, Ryan Gosling is one hell of an actor. He’s a two-time Academy Award nominee, and more than likely soon to be a three-time if his performance as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is anything to go by.
Not only does Gosling possess serious dramatic capabilities, but he also has the gift of the gab when it comes to comedic timing, as well as showing real standing as an action star. It’s more than evident to see that Gosling has many strings to his bow, yet his performance in Nicolas Winding Refn’s art-house, action flick Drive showcased a different side of the actor that both audiences and critics alike hadn’t seen from him before.
Drive is both effortlessly slick and impeccably stylish, featuring a nuanced and nonchalant performance from Gosling whose eyes do the talking (and acting) for the most part.
It’s no easy feat to stand out from such a star-studded cast consisting of names like Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac and Ron Perlman, but Gosling does so and with relative ease. A shy and solitary Hollywood stuntman, Gosling’s 'Driver' is complex but compassionate also, as his inability to itch the scratch that is getaway driving lands him in hot water with some of Los Angeles’ most nefarious gangsters, irrespective of the virtuous nature behind his motives.
Drive is almost certainly the canon that shot Ryan Gosling to superstardom, and he hasn’t checked his rear-view mirror since.