Ashton MuchaRyan Gosling
When considering Canada’s two most popular Ryans, something as superficial as appearance has to be overlooked. Even though Gosling’s attractiveness will stand tests aging will throw at him.
Ryan Gosling is a tour de force on screen. From roles in The Notebook to La La Land, Gosling’s talent is no small feat. He can play anyone from the silent brooding type in Drive to the bumbling fool in The Nice Guys. All these roles are memorable and believable, with brilliant deliveries. He rarely seeks a major blockbuster role and has never taken a Marvel sellout role but rather sticks to independent more arthouse films. While these films have polarized some, what hasn’t is Gosling’s apparent love for real film making. Unlike Reynolds, Gosling chooses movies that he personally wants to do and doesn’t just pick the ones he thinks will be box-office hits (Deadpool). Gosling prefers story over spectacle, character over pageantry, and most importantly talent over personal aesthetics.
The same could not be said for the lesser Ryan. Reynolds may have knocked it out of the park with Deadpool, his filmography is filled with more devastating misses than hits. For every Deadpool, there’s a Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. For every Buried, there’s a The Captive or Self/Less. Reynolds peaked with his role as Van Wilder, This is painfully evident as with some exceptions he plays that same Wilder-esque character in every movie he’s in. It might garner some laughs the first couple of times you see it, after a while you begin to get films like The Change-up. His foray in dramatic roles have also been inconsistent. While he does have some good thrillers present in his resume, the majority of his films are melancholic and hammy wastes of time.
Offscreen, Reynolds may pose a more charismatic front than Gosling, which might present the illusion of superiority; however, that’s like comparing the stereotypical high school star quarterback to the class valedictorian. The latter, despite their future being full of prominent successes, is passed off as a lesser being compared to the one who won the school a championship once in his lifetime. Although the quarterback might garner all the attention at the moment, time is never on their side once that jawline sags and the six pack becomes a keg — then they become nothing more than a nostalgic afterthought. I guess we should let Ryan Reynolds cherish his championship… it might be all he gets.
— Nicklaus Neitling
Ryan Reynolds
When it comes to hot actors named Ryan — Canada’s number-one export — there’s more to look at than just pure talent. Off-screen, Reynolds has Gosling beat eight ways from Sunday.
Before we get into what makes him really great, Ryan Reynolds’ filmography isn’t anything to scoff at. He atoned for the mortal sin that was his maybe-Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine by putting up HIS OWN MONEY to ensure the production of Mr. Pool’s standalone flick was done right. That decision panned out big-time, with the minuscule $53-million production budget paying off to the tune of nearly $800-million at the box office. Combine that with rom-com classics like The Proposal and tearjerkers like Definitely, Maybe, and it paints Reynolds as an actor who clearly understands what his lane is, and he occupies it perfectly.
Part of what makes any on-screen personality truly great is also appreciating who they are off-screen. Dig deep enough into 95 per cent of Hollywood’s background, and you’ll find something embarrassing, if not cringeworthy. Reynolds owns his past, from being a juvenile delinquent in Vancouver to his multiple run-ins with cakey foundation. This is combined with a home life to die for, and Reynolds is for sure top of the Hollywood househusband food chain. (He goes home every night to Blake Lively, for fucksake.) He sucks face with Andrew Garfield at awards shows, and has authored the go-to guide to childbirth for men.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, Reynolds is great in interviews. He made Fallon bearable, the Top Gear segment was all you could ask for, his turn on The Graham Norton Show is an absolute classic. All in all, there’s only one Ryan with his granite jawline chiseled into my soul, and it’s Reynolds.
— Mitch Sorensen
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