Gosling stars as a man known simply as "driver" in the thriller, "Drive."
His character is a stunt driver who earns a little extra money on the side by driving getaway cars for robbers.
Along with the action sequences, the film also features plenty of sweet moments like his relationship with a mentor played by Bryan Cranston and a potential love interest played by Carey Mulligan, who has a lonely child.
But circumstances drive our anti-hero to violence - heavy R-rated violence. Gosling had his own, very unique, take on that.
"I love John Hughes but I always thought if there was violence in his movies, that would just be perfect. Like, imagine 'Pretty in Pink' but with a head smashing," Gosling said.
"Drive" is reminiscent of some of the stylized movies of the 70s, and those are the kinds of films Gosling has always loved.
"The first time I saw 'First Blood,' it put a spell on me and I thought I was Rambo. I went to school, filled my Fisher Price Houdini kit up with steak knives and I threw them at the kids at recess and got suspended," the actor recalled, adding that from then on, his parents only let him watch movies rented from the library like "National Geographic movies and black-and-white comedies and Bible movies."
Gosling likened his "Drive" character to that kid who watched "too many movies" who lived his "regular life acting like he was some kind of action hero."
Gosling said he always wanted to play a super hero but said all the good ones were already taken.
"This gave me an opportunity to create my own," he said.
"Drive" also stars Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks. It hits theaters Friday.
