Ryan Gosling Isn't A Golden Globes Newbie

Like any hot-blooded human who knows what's good for them, I happen to count myself as quite the fan of Ryan Gosling. And yes, while he happens to be extremely easy on the eyes, as well as supremely charming, he's also an astoundingly talented actor capable of making you laugh, swoon, sob, or even squirm in terror. So it's no surprise that many people are already predicting that Gosling may be nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in Damien Chazelle's La La Land. And such a nomination would make for a pleasant addition to the already respectable number of noms for this actor. But, how many Golden Globe nominations does Gosling have so far? For those who have been wondering, he's been up for four — and all of them have been for some of the most iconic and brilliant performances of his entire career.

Gosling's first Golden Globe nomination arrived in 2008 for his offbeat, yet touching, performance as Lars Lindstrom in Lars and the Real Girl. His depiction of a troubled young man who develops a romantic (yet non-sexual) relationship with an anatomically correct doll felt truly heartfelt. And despite the unusual subject matter and some outlandish and difficult scenes, Gosling's performance could be both tender and funny. However, the actor lost out on winning the award to Johnny Depp, who won for his performance in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

After that, Gosling's next Golden Globe nomination came in 2011 for his devastating performance in Blue Valentine. Featuring some absolutely merciless scenes of a once happy relationship completely falling apart, the entire movie, and its performances, felt utterly harrowing and real. So it was no surprise to hear that Gosling employed method techniques for Blue Valentine which fully immersed him into the character.

For a whole month, Gosling lived with co-star Michelle Williams and the child actor who played their daughter, in an effort to "dismantle" the loving relationship that they'd been previously developing together as actors. Sadly, Colin Firth beat Gosling to win the Golden Globe for his role in The King's Speech.

Just a year later, Gosling was nominated for two separate performances at the 2012 Golden Globes. The first being Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his role in The Ides of March and the second being Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role in Crazy, Stupid, Love. For Gosling to be nominated in both categories in the same year really highlighted his versatility as an actor. Proving that he doesn't just have range, but that he can deliver incredible performances at opposing ends of the acting spectrum.

However, despite a double nomination that year, Gosling was also up against some incredibly strong competition, losing out to George Clooney (for his role in The Descendants) in the Drama category, and to Jean Dujardin (for his role in The Artist) in the Musical or Comedy one.

So, will 2016 perhaps finally be the year that Gosling wins a Golden Globe? Fingers crossed that it might be. We'll find out whether he's in for a chance when the 2017 Golden Globe Awards nominations are announced on Dec. 12.