Exploring Ryan Gosling's Mormon upbringing as 'Barbie' star once shared he was raised by 'religious zealot' mother

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ryan Gosling was raised Mormon -- a strict religious sect with certain rules and regulations binding its followers. The faith of his parents was so strong that his mother once even told him that he was raised by a “religious zealot.”

The ‘Barbie’ actor’s religious upbringing has recently become a topic of discussion after a former member of the sect recently said Gosling had the “Mormon face”. 

Though the 43-year-old actor has opened up about his religious upbringing in several interviews, he also shared that he never considered himself to be a member of the church. 

In a 2002 interview, Gosling told The Village Voice he was “religious but nondenominational.”

Ryan Gosling’s religious upbringing

Before Gosling became a Hollywood heartthrob and enchanted the audience at the prestigious Academy Awards with his magical ‘I’m Just Ken’ performance, the star was brought up by his parents Donna and Thomas in a small Canadian town, per Daily Mail.

His parents were devoted followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, and brought up their son “pretty religious.”

In an interview with The Guardian in 2007, the ‘La La Land’ star shared, “My mother admits it. She says, "You were raised by a religious zealot." She's different now, but at the time, it was a part of everything - what they ate, how they thought…”

While growing up, Gosling also participated in many Mormon talent shows and programs which left a lasting impact on his psyche and helped in building his Hollywood career. 

The Oscar nominee’s religious upbringing also helped him in landing the lead role in 2002’s ‘The Believer’, where a Jewish man develops an antisemitic philosophy.

The director of the movie, Henry Bean, admitted then Gosling was the perfect choice for the role primarily because “he knew what religion was.”

Bean admitted to Nerve then, “I thought, "I have to cast a Jewish kid," but I found that when I auditioned, Jewish kids didn't know much more than anybody else.”

He continued to praise ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ star’s religious upbringing, saying, “Ryan understood something about religion. Mormonism is very demanding, and it isolates you the way Judaism isolates you. And he got all that.”

In various interviews, Gosling too shared insights about the role of religion in his life. Talking to The Village Voice in 2002, he admitted that he is “religious but nondenominational.”

He shared, “My parents were more Mormon than I was, but it did help me understand. I see how happy it makes my mother and sister, and I think it's beautiful.”

Gosling added, “Maybe I'm too selfish, or I'm jealous of their humility — that somebody can say, yeah, it doesn't make sense but I'm going to believe it anyway.”

During another interview with Beliefnet, ‘The Notebook’ shared that he was never pressured into following the faith.

Gosling admitted, “I grew up Mormon. I wasn't really Mormon, my parents were. My mom was really cool. She said, "This is an option, but this isn't the only option. This is an idea, but this isn't the only idea. You have to find your own truth."'

He further continued to highlight the positive aspects of the religious sect, saying, “I never really could identify with it. There's good things about going to church.”

He explained, “[Being Mormon] socialized me at a young age. You have to pray in public, shake a lot of hands, talk in public, sing in church, stuff like that. It has definitely stayed with me.”

Former Mormon says Ryan Gosling has a 'Mormon face'

Recently, a woman named Alyssa Grenfell, 31, created headlines after citing Ryan Gosling as a person having the ‘Mormon face’, the Daily Mail reported.

Alyssa, who herself was raised according to the Mormon faith, came out of the sect in 2017. Now, she often discusses aspects of the faith on social media.

Recently, she posted a clip on her YouTube channel where Alyssa expressed her views on why she thought all the Mormons looked similar. 

She started the video by saying, “Have you ever wondered why certain people look Mormon? I see this all over social media.”

Citing Gosling carries the signature Mormon looks, Alyssa opined that a Mormon can be identified by their appearance.

She explained, “Mormons really only marry other Mormons. You can't marry in a Mormon temple unless it's two Mormons getting married, this in large part has made it so that the gene pool is actually very small - especially in a place like Utah, where Mormons fled to be able to practice polygamy in peace.”

She continued, “Those Mormons were only making babies with other Mormons for a very long time, and the only other opportunity to make the gene pool larger is to convert people.”

She not only focused on appearance but also on the personality traits shared by this sect of people. 

Alyssa said, “I think another reason is not just the way Mormons look, but it's also their vibe. Mormons are hyper-friendly, almost too friendly. Mormons are taught to share their religion. I think that Mormon culture is very copycat.”