Successful actors in the business today are dynamic. From the variety of the roles they take to the quality of their performance, being an actor in this day and age takes some real and raw talent. However, occasionally, we, as audiences, get presented with actor-pairs that exhibit so much chemistry and a genuine connection that we are all left salivating for more. Especially in movies that are deeply emotional or physically demanding, there needs to be a level of trust between lead actors that is key to the success of the film overall. Well, when we think about actor pairings that just have IT, we think about Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
Both Stone and Gosling have been in this business for a while, and each of them has proven that their talent is not to be undermined. Whether it be a romance film, an action thriller, or even a laugh-out-loud comedy, these actors are in their element. However, can both of them be together, on the same screen, at the same time? Magic.
Even when they don't share the screen together, they somehow find themselves drawn together. The recent nominations for the 96th Academy Awards will see Stone and Gosling reunited once more on the red carpet. Stone landed a nomination for Best Actress for the role of Bella Baxter in Poor Things. Gosling is nominated Best Supporting Actor for his depiction of Ken in Barbie. There is a chance that the two actors known for co-starring in movies together could be up on the stage sharing the spotlight as Academy Award winners come Oscar night.
With Stone and Gosling in the awards race, one may want to check out their past collaborations together. Get two Oscar nominees for one movie. Here is our ranking of every Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling collaboration we cannot get enough of.
Update January 25, 2024: In honor of legendary screen partners Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone both being nominated at the 96th Academy Awards, this article has been updated with more details about their past collaborations and where you can watch each film.
3 Gangster Squad (2013)
In 2013, Stone and Gosling found themselves once again playing romantic partners in Gangster Squad. Starring alongside big names like Josh Brolin and Sean Penn, this movie is based on an actual group of LAPD officers and detectives who refer to themselves as the Gangster Squad. The movie chronicles the group as they take down Mickey Cohen (Penn), a kingpin, in 1949. Gosling plays Sgt. Jerry Wooters, a cool playboy, falls in love with Stone's Grace Faraday, an aspiring actress who is also Mickey Cohen's lover, which certainly complicates the matter.
Gosling and Stone's Chemistry Is Undeniable Even In The Weakest Entry
Gosling and Stone ooze chemistry when they are on-screen together, as this marked their second collaboration together. Gangster Squad also sees Stone working once again with director Reuben Flesher, who previously directed her on Zombieland. Gangster Squad certainly had a lot of hype behind it, as it looked to be a cool big-budget blockbuster update of a classic genre picture, but the film was seen as a bit of a disappointment with critics and at the box office, bringing in $46 million domestically. Luckily, with a worldwide gross of $105 million, it can be said to be somewhat profitable. The best part of the movie is Stone and Gosling, who have always had the screen persona of classic 1930s and 1940s movie stars with a modern twist so they effortlessly fit into the movie. Rent or purchase on AppleTV+, Vudu, and Prime Video.
2 Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Crazy Stupid Love
- Release Date
- July 29, 2011
- Director
- Glenn Ficarra , John Requa
- Runtime
- 118
Romantic comedies are always a win. And, if you have two actors in your cast who have as much charisma and chemistry as Stone and Gosling, your movie is set for success. Crazy, Stupid, Love follows Cal (Steve Carell), who, after splitting with his wife (Julianne Moore) for cheating on him, seeks out help from a new friend, Jacob (Gosling). Jacob takes Cal under his wing and helps him put himself back out there in the nightmare that is modern dating. Along the way, we see Jacob developing some sparks with Hannah, played by Stone, when a secret is revealed that the two are acquainted somehow after all.
Crazy Stupid Love Launched Their On-Screen Collaborations
Crazy Stupid Love was the first collaboration between Gosling and Stone, and it is apparent from their first scene together they just have a natural chemistry. The movie wisely plays up Gosling's cool guy persona with Stone's down-to-earth everywoman to great comedic results. She is clearly immune to his charms, but that is also what attracts him to her more and what allows him to let down some of his walls to become truly open to someone. The film's iconic scene, where they go back to Gosling's home, and he takes off his shirt only for her to express what the audience is thinking, is relatable and charming. The film's twist is one of the all-time great comedic moments and elevated the movie to a classic. It marked the first of many great collaborations between Gosling and Stone, one that would make them the modern-day Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Rent or purchase on AppleTV+, Vudu, and Prime Video.
1 La La Land (2016)
La La Land
- Release Date
- November 29, 2016
- Runtime
- 126
What else was it going to be? La La Land is arguably one of the best movies of the 2010s and we can credit almost all of it to the remarkable performances of both Stone and Gosling. This new Hollywood rags-to-riches romance follows Mia (Stone), an aspiring young actor, when she meets Sebastian (Gosling), an aspiring young musician. In true Hollywood fashion, the two young artists fall in love, and we, as an audience, are brought on a magical rollercoaster of what it takes to become a household name in the realm of entertainment. Along with that, La La Land navigates the complex and truly heartwarming and heartbreaking relationship between the couple that leaves us clamoring for more. Stone and Gosling are soulmates personified on-screen, and this film went on to win six Academy Awards, including Stone for Best Actress.
Why La Land Is The Best
It is impossible to imagine anyone else in the roles, and at times, it feels like a movie written specifically to pair Gosling and Stoen together and cash in on their chemistry from Crazy Stupid Love and Gangster Squad. Yet it was all a happy accident after original star Miles Teller dropped out and Emma Watson passed to do Beauty and the Beast. By this point, Stone and Gosling had worked together so much that their chemistry was just natural. They always had an old-time movie star quality, so putting them in a musical just seems natural, and the two fit the genre perfectly as a 21st-century Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The scene of Gosling and Stone dancing and singing "A Lovely Night" has become an iconic cinematic moment, one prominently featured in Nicole Kidman's iconic AMC ad.
While audiences certainly buy the romantic moments between them, what is great are the more dramatic scenes. This is the first time their romance in a film is the primary focus, so the duo not only gets the early courtship but also scenes where they get to argue. They feel like real people who help each other grow and change and bring out the best in one another, but two that are not meant to be. The beautiful final sequence shows a hypothetical of what their life could have been together, but one that is a fantasy. The movie ends with the two former lovers looking fondly at one another but moving forward with their lives.
As of this writing, this has been their last collaboration together. Certainly, audiences would see whatever film they worked on together again; in many ways, this feels like the perfect end note. A thematic trilogy of romances set in Los Angeles that culminates that span time periods and genres that all feature the romantic, humorous, and delightful pairings of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Stream on Netflix.
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