The actor is dad to daughters Esmeralda and Amada, whom he shares with longtime partner Eva Mendes

Cass Bird for WSJ. Magazine

Ryan Gosling for ‘WSJ. Magazine’

Ryan Gosling’s daughters have a very sweet name for their dad.

In a new interview with WSJ. Magazine for their June/July issue, the proud dad of two shared with the outlet that his two daughters — Esmeralda Amada, 9, and Amada Lee, 8, whom he shares with longtime partner Eva Mendes — have been learning Spanish and call him Papi with a little accent.

“It kills me every time,” Gosling says. “There’s just nothing, nothing better than that.”

Cass Bird for WSJ. Magazine

Ryan Gosling for ‘WSJ. Magazine’

In the same interview, Gosling shared that he’s been straying away from the more psychologically twisted roles so that he can be in a better mindset when he comes home to his family.

“I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,” Gosling said.

“This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us. The decisions I make, I make them with Eva and we make them with our family in mind first.”

In March, a source told PEOPLE that Mendes and Gosling moved their daughters outside of Los Angeles to give their kids a quieter childhood.

“For them, the most important job is their girls. Everything else comes second,” the insider shared. “And their girls are thriving. They left L.A. to live a bit further north, away from Hollywood. They didn’t want the girls to grow up around other celebrity kids.”

Cass Bird for WSJ. Magazine

Ryan Gosling for ‘WSJ. Magazine’

“Eva and Ryan love their life. It’s admirable how they’ve been able to create balance and boundaries. They care so much about their marriage and just want their girls to live a happy life.”

In August, a second source told PEOPLE that the famous couple are “hands-on parents and have little help,” sharing that they “very much enjoy family time” with their daughters.

“When they are not working, they are all about their girls,” the source continued. “Ryan is such a fun dad. He is goofy and his girls love it.”

“He takes them out by himself for various activities. As a family, they enjoy visiting the desert and the beach. They are a very active family. Eva and Ryan seem happy. They tend to be flirty and hold hands. It’s cute.”