Star of the year ryan gosling
On bringing the ooh-la-la to La La Land
Why do you think La Laland was so appealing?
I think people are drawn to the relationship between Mia [Emma Stone] and Sebastian. Not everyone will like musicals, but you’re emotionally invested in the story because you feel very close to them.
What made you say yes to it?
Damien [Chazelle, the director] and I met and I immediately saw how much he loved movies in general, and how he wanted Lalaland to have that old-style Hollywood magic. It follows in the tradition of a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie.
Your dancing was very impressive. How much experience did you have?
I had taken a lot of dance classes as a kid because it was a great escape from school, where I kept getting into trouble and did badly in my classes. Dancing helped give me a lot of self-confidence and it was a great way for me to feel creative and express myself.
Was it hard?
The kind of dance numbers Emma and I had to learn were very intricate and obviously very far from the ’90s hip-hop dancing I’d done [on The Mickeymouseclub ]. We spent three months learning to tap dance and it was hard work.
And you had to sing…
I had to learn to play jazz piano and work on my singing – although, fortunately for the public, I only have a few duets with Emma. But I had a lot of fun dancing with her, because we’ve known each other for a long time and she’s a very good dancer. The choreographer had to have a lot more patience with me.
You’re now a father of two – how does it feel?
I’d rather be at home with my kids than at work
It’s wonderful. I enjoy being a father more than I could ever have imagined. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Now that we have two girls [Esmerelda, three, and Amada, one, with Eva Mendes], I find myself wanting to stay at home with them all the time instead of working.