2011: The Year of Ryan Gosling

You swooned over his abs in Crazy, Stupid, Love., marveled at his manliness in Drive and were charmed by his charisma in The Ides of March.

Of course, we can only be talking about one person -- the Ryan Gosling.

Without a doubt, 2011 will be remembered as the Year of Gosling. With three impressive films under his belt, Gosling not only proved he can carry a film, he also showed his incredible range. What other actor this year -- or any year, for that matter -- went from a super smooth ladies man (Crazy, Stupid, Love.) to an antisocial loner capable of extreme violence (Drive) and made both characters seem completely plausible to moviegoers in the span of oh, a month and a half?

Sure, Gosling was famous already before 2011 (thanks to The Notebook ... It still ain't over!), but this year truly saw him become the superstar that he is now. Case in point? When People magazine named Bradley Cooper the Sexiest Man Alive, there was a collective Internet outrage on why Gosling wasn't victorious this year. Heck, even Bradley Cooper thinks Ryan's sexier.

It's been a long time since an actor has stirred up this much passion, no?

In fact the mind boggling fervor for Ryan Gosling is nowhere more evident than on the Internet. There are countless blogs dedicated to him, including the insanely popular "F*** Yeah, Ryan Gosling", which gave birth to the "Hey Girl" catchphrase he'll forever be associated with.

And, why not? Here's a guy who gave us such gems this year like this quote from Adelaide Now back in November. "I think like a girl, I think. I was literally raised by my mother and my sister. And I just feel like I wouldn't know how to think any other way … My sister was my best friend and my hero growing up. Because I was home-schooled I didn't have a lot of friends and I did ballet, which was always just girls. All of that had an effect on my brain."

Seriously?! Here's a guy who is sensitive enough to say he "thinks like a girl," mature enough for an older woman, kind to animals, and tough enough to break up a random street fight. Though constant press can often make an actor cheesy (see Justin Timberlake), Gosling has somehow managed to cultivate an image that is both spectacularly sensitive and attractively manly at once -- a Hollywood persona that makes him the object of desire to everyone from hipster girls to mean girls, to seriously, my mom.

And it's not just women the Gosling appeals to. He's that rare breed of actor that both men and women can admire without shame. Guys absolutely lost it over Drive's unabashed goriness -- how many guys are tripping over themselves to see a Robert Pattinson film?

And don't even get me started on Zac Efron.

But perhaps what is most promising about Gosling is that he is barely 31-years-old. It isn't so far off the mark to suggest that the best is still yet to come. And what with all the Kardashians and dime a dozen pretty boys in Hollywood today, it's refreshing to see someone who really has the potential to be a true Movie Star in the way that George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise have become. Remember when being a movie star really meant something?

Yes, Gosling (and probably Emma Stone) has become our latest hope. Because with the way 2011 has gone, it's safe to say that he's as much on his way to that level of superstardom than anyone in the business we've seen so far.

And that's something we can all look forward to in 2012.