Ryan Gosling has been in the spotlight for nearly two decades, however, the actor has managed to stay away from the heavy action, 007-type roles thus far. That will change with the upcoming Netflix film The Gray Man, where all the focus will be on Gosling and his swift CIA assassin abilities. Gosling stars as Court Gentry, a CIA mercenary who goes rogue after discovering dark agency secrets. As a result, Gentry is forced to go on the run, avoiding government killers led by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans).
Gosling admits it took him a while to star in a big-budget action film, but the actor says he 'just had to find the right one.' In an interview with ET, The Gray Man star discusses his role in the Netflix movie and how it resembles the films he grew up watching.
"You know, I always wanted to make an action film, because they made me fall in love with movies. It just took me a long time to find the right one, you know. [This movie] is like the films I grew up loving. It has like the '80s and '90s action films [vibe], it's fun, the characters [have a] sense of humor about the situations. It's an escapist movie, and I really liked the character. It was like a spy who doesn't want to be a spy, who rather be at home watching Netflix like the rest of us. You know he doesn't want anything to do with this, but he has to. So it made an interesting life, and it made him an interesting character to play."
It only took Gosling 20 years to find an action role worthy of his presence, but the actor couldn't be more excited for people to see him in the part. The Gray Man arrives in theaters July 15th and reaches Netflix a week later, on July 22nd.
The Gray Man Was a Physical Role for Gosling
The Gray Man is only a few short days away, releasing in theaters this Friday, and Ryan Gosling may still be sore from the workouts required for the role. In the same interview with ET, Gosling said a lot of preparation went into the part, and he didn't realize how many people he would be sharing his character with.
"It was a very physical role, so there was a lot of [preparing and working out], and, you know, it was just a physical challenge in everyway."
Gosling was also surprised by the stunt crew and the sheer number of people it took to pull off Court Gentry.
"What I didn't realize was just how many people it takes to make an action hero. It looks like it's me doing all those things, and yes, I do some of it, but we had an incredible stunt team, and an incredible special effects team."
Fans don't have to wait long to see how Gosling and his stunt doubles handled the action, with The Gray Man releasing in two days, July 15th. You can check out the latest trailer for the new Netflix film below.