Welcome To Hell, Enjoy The Buffet

Before he was diagnosed with ADHD, Gosling got himself into trouble in school. He also struggled to make friends because he was bullied for his behavior, which is what led him to take knives to school and throw them at fellow students. This had a profound effect on Gosling's view of himself and how he tackles the roles he is cast for today. "I took knives to school and I started throwing them around the playground and I got suspended," Gosling explained. "... I wasn't taking [the knives] to school, I was Rambo taking them to war." At the time, Gosling had yet to be diagnosed with ADHD. He had been tested to that point but was not given a diagnosis. However, after this incident, it was clear that there was more to being rebellious. Another test was conducted and Gosling was finally diagnosed not only with ADHD but with a reading disability as well. This was when Donna took matters into her own hands and removed Gosling from elementary school. She chose to homeschool him instead. While homeschooled, Gosling discovered that he had an interest in entertaining people. It gave him a sense of "self-confidence." And while he was eventually cast in the Mickey Mouse Club, a role that Gosling was happy to have, it would take time for Gosling to become a household name. When he did, it was because of being able to identify with each character he portrayed in some shape or form. "All my characters are me. I'm not a good enough actor to become a character," Gosling stated. "I hear about actors who become the role and I think 'I wonder what that feels like'. Because for me, they're all me. I relate to these characters because aspects of their personality are like me. And I just turn up the parts of myself that are them and turn down the parts that aren't." It was all that Gosling experienced as a kid that allowed him to tap into these emotions and go to places he would not have been able to without the childhood he experienced.