'Beyond' Compare: Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling

By Jason Hazzard

Women the world over protested in 2011 when People magazine named Bradley Cooper the “Sexiest Man Alive” over actor Ryan Gosling. Two years later, both actors star in The Place Beyond the Pines as Gosling plays a bank robber and Cooper is the cop hot on his trail. Having come up at the same time, here we look at their lives and careers.

On the Pines set

Joked Cooper to More! magazine about working alongside Ryan on set: “We had Sexiest Man Alive matches every lunchtime. Who walked most sexily, who ate lunch most sexily, who opened doors most sexily. He won every time."

Ryan Gosling: Kid Actor

One of the many young talents that revived The Mickey Mouse Club in the early ‘90s, Canada native Gosling sang and danced with the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell and Justin Timberlake. Ryan’s mother had to return to the north to work while preteen Gosling filmed in Florida. In her absence, his BFF JT’s mother became his legal guardian. Perhaps Gosling was the inspiration for JT’s hit “Sexy Back.”

Breakout film: The Notebook

Were you one of the many obsessed with The Notebook? Gosling's breakout role in this Nicholas Sparks adaptation placed him on the A-list in Hollywood and in the hearts of women everywhere.

Hey, he’s in a band

Gosling is more than a pretty face and a talented actor; he’s also a tortured musician. OK, maybe not “tortured,” but he is the lead singer of the indie rock band Dead Man’s Bones. Along with being the lead vocalist, Gosling is also talented with his hands, playing the piano, guitar, bass guitar and cello.

Hey, he's a restaurateur!

Who doesn’t love a man with adventurous tastes? A few years ago Gosling bought Tagine, a Moroccan restaurant in Beverly Hills. Pumping much of his hard-earned cash into renovations, he now sits back and simply oversees the menu. When he takes you there, you’ll totally get priority seating.

Academy Darling: Half Nelson

Gosling's portrayal of a drug-addicted school teacher in 2006 earned him his first Academy Award nomination, and we all know what that means: r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

Working it in Crazy, Stupid, Love

Opposite a straight-laced Cal (Steve Carell), Gosling played ladies' man Jacob, who used his womenly wiles (and those abs) to woo the gals and teach Cal how to rejoin the dating scene.

Rev your engines: Drive

Gosling's turn as a getaway driver in Nicolas Winding Refn's slow-burn crime drama later in 2011 earned him rave reviews and showed audiences worldwide what it's like to live and drive in L.A.

And now on to...

Bradley Cooper: A splashy debut

If you have not seen Wet Hot American Summer you’re missing out on one of our favorite raunch-coms. Cooper stars opposite Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks and pretty much every other hilarious actor acting in 2002. It was Cooper’s first feature film, which he still remembers fondly for his onscreen romance with Michael Ian Black. Hubba hubba.

Funny and smart

Graduating from Georgetown, Cooper received a B.A. in English (with honors, duh) and followed that up with an M.F.A. in acting from Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in NYC. Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest pleasure…

He’s got heart

When Cooper first moved to NYC to pursue a career in acting, he spent his weekends volunteering with LEAP (Learning through the Expanded Arts Program), a nonprofit organization that teaches acting and movement to inner city school children.

Breakout film: The Hangover

The highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time made Bradley Cooper a household name and took bachelor parties [in Vegas] to a whole new level.

Cooper: Hit and Run

Cooper switched out his typical clean-cut look for some blond dreadlocks in Dax Shepard's little-seen but pretty damn funny 2012 comedy. Cooper plays an ex-con hell bent on finding the former gangbanger who sold him out to hilarious consequence.

Those abs in The A-Team

As master con man Templeton "Face" Peck, Cooper was utterly believable as a cocky ladies' man with a one-liner for every situation.

Academy Darling: Silver Linings Playbook

Cooper received his first Academy Award nomination this past year for his powerful performance of a man living with bipolar disorder. The movie was a critical and commercial success, making over $200 million worldwide and earning Oscar nominations in every major category.