Ryan Gosling Says He's Been Dreaming of Robbing Banks His Whole Life

Star says he's finally got to indulge in one of his longtime fantasies through his role in The Place Beyond the Pines

By Bruna Nessif Apr 08, 2013 11:36 PMTags
Ryan Gosling, The Place Beyond the PinesFocus Features

Ryan Gosling is so dangerous (at least in his imagination, anyway).

During an interview with The Telegraph, the Hollywood hunk revealed that one of the fantasies he's had since he was a child was—wait for it—to rob a bank, and with his latest bad boy role in The Place Beyond the Pines he was able to (kinda) live that out.

"I've been thinking about a bank robbery my whole life and I finally got to do it," Gosling said, but it didn't exactly go down the way he always pictured it in his head.

"I'm there with the gun and I look down and people are just smiling," he says of the first robbery they filmed. Director Derek Cianfrance had arranged to shoot the scene in one take by using the bank's actual employees and customers. "They were just enjoying the show and I think I spotted someone filming me on their camera phone as I robbed the place."

Gosling also shared that his latest role gave him the opportunity to ride a motorcycle, something he's been into since he was a kid—after seeing a rider crash and laying in the middle of the street. Yeah, weird, but he tries to explain.

"I was just a kid walking to school when I saw this guy get hit and this motorcycle guy was there just lying in the middle of the street. I went up to him and he had blood coming from behind his head," Gosling said. 

"My first thought was: I've got to get a motorcycle. There's something messed-up with my brain," he continued. "I then got a paper route and saved up and got a [motor]bike when I was about 12 years old. I sat with it out in the yard for about a year just pretending I was riding it."  

But Gosling explains that his character in the film is rewarding for more reasons than just fulfilling his alter ego, "I loved making this movie. Initially, I just thought I got to rob banks on a bike, but actually it goes much, much deeper than that."  

The actor said, "It gives you a chance to go back and re-explore some early experiences when you were being formed as a person. You can investigate them in a different way." 

The Place Beyond the Pines opens in theaters this Friday.