Gosling was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario to Mormon parents Thomas and Donna Gosling. He was raised in Cornwall, Ontario, and received his start in show business singing with his older sister, Mandi, at local talent shows. Gosling was selected from a pool of thousands to join the New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 alongside the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake, with whom he lived while working on the series.

Gosling becasme well known after his roles in the television series Young Hercules and Breaker High, and his fame spread to the United States after he'd starred in such films as The Slaughter Rule, Murder by Numbers, Remember the Titans, The United States of Leland, The Notebook, and The Believer (which was the 2001 Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival).

In 2004, he was named one of People magazine's Fifty Hottest Bachelors, and named the Sho West Male Star of Tomorrow.

Other activities With two of his friends, Gosling has opened a Moroccan restaurant called Tagine in Beverly Hills, California. He is also involved with The One campaign, which works to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty.

Gosling is an accomplished jazz guitarist and singer, and has performed at The Cat Club on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. He was also a backing singer on Canadian band soulDecision's 2000 album, No One Does it Better.

Gosling is an animal-rights activist, and wrote a letter to Kentucky Fried Chicken on behalf of PETA, urging the company to improve its treatment of animals.

He also kinda looks like Drew.