5 Things You Didn’t Know About Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling, 36, who co-stars with Emma Stone in the romantic musical La La Land, in theaters Dec. 16, is a hipster heartthrob who mixes edgy, nonmainstream films (like Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines) with more popular box-office spice. He also makes the internet zing with news of his random good deeds—like breaking up a New York street fight. Here are five other facts about the Oscar-nominated star of The Notebook, The Big Short and Crazy, Stupid, Love.

1. He played spin the bottle with The All New Mickey Mouse Club castmate Britney Spears. But they never kissed.
2. His childhood nickname was “Trouble.”
3. After Hurricane Katrina, Gosling drove to Mississippi and helped rebuild a monastery.
4. He’s an accomplished jazz guitarist.
5. He once bought all the cookies from a Girl Scout cookie stand and gave them out to passersby.