Ryan Gosling and the Backstreet Boys (Photos by L. Cohen/WireImage; Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)Hey girl, Ryan Gosling has revealed in a recent interview for his new 1940s shoot-em-up film Gangster Squad, that he missed his opportunity to become a member of the none other than the Backstreet Boys! It's no secret Gosling was a member of pop star-making machine The Mickey Mouse Club, but we didn't know 'til now just how close Gosling got to being in one of the biggest boy bands in history.
Gosling told Celebuzz, “When we were doing Mickey Mouse Club, we were living in the same place as that guy A.J. from the Backstreet Boys. So he was always talking about the Backstreet Boys… he was saying like how big they were going to be... And we were like, just shoot the ball dude. It’s never gonna happen, yeah right. Didn’t they already do that with the New Kids? You’re a little late. Cut too—I was wrong.”
When asked if Gosling regretted not jumping on the BSB train, he replied, “Can’t live in the past, that ship has sailed.” When prodded if he ever sees the Backstreet Boys, he joked, “They don’t return my phone calls.”
Meanwhile, A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys confirmed Gosling’s story when TMZ caught up with him this week.
McLean sent a message to Gosling, saying, “I am so sorry I didn’t call you back dude… If we ever want a sixth Backstreet Boy I’m gonna call you... He’s not only a great actor, a handsome man, but he’s a great singer.
Many of us in the music world already know Ryan Gosling can sing, given he’s the lead singer of indie folk band Dead Man’s Bones (which is pretty fantastic, and has sadly been on hold for a few years now). But do we know if Ryan Gosling can sing “That Way”? As McLean elegantly put it: “That dude can sing his ass off.”
And he sure can. Watch Gosling tear up hearts as a kid singing a ballad on the Mickey Mouse Club (start at 1:30).
Gosling may have missed a chance to be in the Backstreet Boys, but by the looks of the above video, he had a better chance of being in *NSYNC given he already shared a stage with JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake. And Gosling sure knows how to dance too. But all the “what ifs” aside, we don't want to imagine a world where Gosling is a meme-less has-been in 2013. We like him just where he is now. Actually, we’d like him a lot closer!
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