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Ryan Gosling has amassed a large fan base thanks to The Gray Man star‘s performances and career choices.

But when it comes to the actor himself, Gosling once shared he just couldn’t bring himself to enjoy his own films.

Why Ryan Gosling compared acting to being a cat burglar

Ryan Gosling during the photocall for 'First Man'.
Ryan Gosling | VINCENZO PINTO/Getty Images

Gosling has been a part of the film industry since his childhood years. Many audiences were first exposed to the star during his time in The Mickey Mouse Club with the likes of Justin Timerlake. In a 2007 interview he did with GQ, Gosling explained that he wasn’t exactly drawn to the spotlight. But he felt acting provided a gateway to become what the 7-year-old version of Gosling wanted to be.

“I hated being a kid,” Gosling said. “A lot of kids feel like they got forced into being a child actor, but I wanted it, ’cause I wanted to be an adult.”

In his teen years, Gosling would pack up and move to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally. His persistence led to his breakthrough role in the 2001 independent film The Believer. From there, he found his workload and film opportunities slowly growing as an actor. But he was concerned about being too big of a star. Gosling was well aware of the kind of attention mega-stardom often led to, and he believed that kind of celebrity could negatively affect his work.

“Being an actor is like being a cat burglar. You try to get in and out without being noticed. As soon as you get famous, it’s like you’ve got a marching band with you every time you walk out of the house. And it’s harder to make people believe you as a character. And your work goes downhill,” he said.

Ryan Gosling once revealed that he couldn’t like the movies that he starred in

Despite perhaps preferring a more lowkey lifestyle, Gosling’s starpower couldn’t help expand after his extensive work in the film industry. In addition to more independent projects, movies like The Notebook helped further catapult him into the spotlight. It helped that the actor’s performances were often given high-ratings among critics and at times his own peers.

But Gosling once confided that although many might enjoy the work he puts out, Gosling couldn’t stand to watch the films he does. He can often be his own worst critic.

“I can’t appreciate it as a movie, because I see myself,” Gosling once told Movies. IE. “It becomes a different experience of the journey of making it.”

Gosling felt watching his own work was comparable to an athlete replaying their own performances and critiquing it for flaws.

“You watch your games and you have to critic yourself. That makes you better but you are not able to sit back and enjoy it,” he added.

Ryan Gosling once felt he had to take a break from acting

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In 2013, Gosling wasn’t sure about his place in the film industry. He’d been on the big screen for so long that he thought it was time to step away from the spotlight. The hiatus in his career would hopefully help Gosling reevaluate his acting career going forward.

“I’ve lost perspective on what I’m doing. I think it’s good for me to take a break and reassess why I’m doing it and how I’m doing it. And I think this is probably a good way to learn about that. I need a break from myself as much as I imagine the audience does,” he once told Huffington Post (via Tribeca News).