Inside Ryan Gosling's 'demanding' and 'isolating' MORMON upbringing: Barbie star was raised by a 'religious zealot' mother in tiny town in Canada - before turning his back on ultra-strict faith to pursue Hollywood fame

Ryan Gosling is one of Hollywood's biggest names. But like Katherine Heigl, Derek and Julianne Hough, and Amy Adams, his Mormon upbringing had a big impact on his life - with his own mother even once admitting he was raised a 'religious zealot.'

Recently, his faith became a topic of discussion again when a former member of the ultra-strict religion cited Gosling as an example of someone who has 'Mormon face.'

Long before he became the beloved sensation of the summer while starring as Ken to Margot Robbie's Barbie, Gosling, 43, was raised in small-town Canada by parents Donna and Thomas, who were devoted followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church.

His dad and his uncle worked at the local paper mill in Cornwall, Ontario, and The Mickey Mouse Club alum admitted he was 'brought up pretty religious' and his family's faith permeated every part of their lives.

Ryan Gosling's religious upbringing has been quite a topic of discussion after being featured as an example of 'Mormon face' in a former member of the church's video. Gosling is pictured with sister Mandi, mom Donna and stepfather Valerio Attanasio

Gosling was raised in small town Canada by parents Donna and Thomas, who were devoted followers. He's pictured here as a child with Britney Spears  

'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...,' he told The Guardian in 2007.

More glimpses into Gosling's childhood emerged when a video of him singing at a Mormon talent show in Cornwall, Ontario resurfaced in 2012.

A 10-year-old Gosling is seen taking the stage with a rendition of Percy Sledge's 1966 hit When A Man Loves A Woman, which made a resurgence in the 90s after it was covered by Michael Bolton.

The rising star is wearing a red-and-blue silk button-up and baggy pants as he belts out the tune before he's joined by sister Mandi for a more upbeat dance section.

The man whose family filmed the footage, Gary Saldivia, went to the same church as Gosling.

'He liked to play basketball in the inside one-sided court [at church],' Saldivia, who found the dusty old tape while sorting through his family's belongings, told Yahoo. 

'And he used to always carry around Bubblicious bubble gum and give me some.'

Gosling's religious background also influenced him landing the lead role in 2002's The Believer, a film about a Jewish man who develops an anti-Semitic philosophy.

'My mother admits it: She says, you were raised by a religious zealot... it was a part of everything - what they ate, how they thought,' he said. Pictured with mom and sister in 2007

More glimpses into Gosling's childhood emerged when a video of him singing at a Mormon talent show in Cornwall, Ontario resurfaced in 2012

Gosling became a beloved sensation last summer when he played Ken in the Barbie movie. He's pictured performing 'I'm Just Ken' at the 2024 Oscars

Director Henry Bean said at the time of the movie's release that the appeal of casting Gosling was that 'he knew what religion was.'

'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,' the filmmaker explained to Nerve.

'Ryan understood something abut religion. Mormonism is very demanding, and it isolates you the way Judaism isolates you. And he got all that.'

Despite his Mormon upbringing, Ryan has been clear that he never really considered himself as a member of the church.

He told The Village Voice in 2002 that he identified as 'religious but nondenominational.'

'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 said.

'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.'

The actor, who is married to fellow Hollywood A-lister Eva Mendes, repeated the sentiments to Beliefnet and said he didn't feel pressure to continue following the teachings of the Mormon church.

Pictured is a Mormon temple in Cornwall, Ontario

Gosling's religious background also helped him to land the lead role in 2002's The Believer

But Gosling says he 'never could really identify' with being a Mormon. He's pictured center in the 1990s in Young Hercules

He told The Village Voice in 2002 that he identified as 'religious but nondenominational.' Pictured is Gosling with The Mickey Mouse Club costars

'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 said.

'I never really could identify with it. There's good things about going to church. [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.'

Previously ex-Mormons Alyssa Grenfell and Diana Ragsdale have spoken out about the strict rules the church had for its members, which include no alcohol or coffee, no sex before marriage, and no wearing of revealing clothing.

Footloose star Julianne, 35, said when she first arrived in Hollywood she had trouble adjusting and figuring out who she was after being brought up in such a restrictive environment.

Speaking about her childhood in suburban Utah, she told the New York Post in 2013 being part of the church meant 'no sex before marriage, no drinking, no caffeine, no smoking, no swear words, no R-rated movies.'

'[Now] I don't think it's going to define who I am if I am at Chateau Marmont having a glass of wine,' Julianne added.

'It was difficult because [when I first arrived] people thought I was this unicorn.

'People wanted to know about me and why I didn't do the things they did. But now it's all gone to hell!'