No actor makes it to the top of the industry without making a fool of themselves at least once, and that’s just one of the reasons why Ryan Gosling has emerged as one of the most popular stars of his generation.

He’s obviously an immensely talented actor with an impressive range and an endless amount of versatility. However, he’s often at his best when he gets to indulge his inner buffoon, something that was put to spectacular use when he landed the third Academy Award nomination of his career for playing the bumbling idiot that was Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

Shane Black’s The Nice Guys was another phenomenal example of his innate comedic chops and natural gift for pratfalling. David Leitch’s The Fall Guy saw his protagonist Colt Seaver repeatedly stumble upwards in an entertaining slice of blockbuster escapism that never gave him a chance to take himself particularly seriously.

Not that silliness was a characteristic he suddenly adopted when he made it in Hollywood, though, with Gosling used to being made to act the fool since his teenage years. His big break came in the early 1990s when he starred in The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, with the variety series regularly placing its young cast members in a number of ridiculous situations.

In an interview with Radio 1 alongside Barbie co-star Margot Robbie, the lead and producer of the billion-dollar behemoth reflected on the most embarrassing roles of their careers. The lead and producer pointed to the moment she was made to dress up as a giant cigarette during her Neighbours days as the chief offender in that regard.

Gosling, however, cast his eye towards the animal kingdom after admitting “I was a hamster at one point” on The Mickey Mouse Club, which stood him in good stead for playing Ken because “I’ve looked pretty ridiculous my entire life”. Truer words have never been spoken, with the actor issuing a resigned “You do it to yourself, man” when quizzed on why he’d decided to dredge up his forgotten mammal moment.

He even tried to claim he was made to do such things because he wasn’t as talented as his colleagues. “It’s why I didn’t work,” he said of his initial post-Mickey lull. “It was like, they dressed me up as a hamster or put me in the background of someone’s song.” Whereas his two most famous compatriots opted to pursue their careers in music, it would be fair to say Gosling made the right choice, sticking to acting.

Until La La Land and Barbie, at least, he was hardly renowned for his singing and dancing, but no matter what happens, it would be safe to say his days of dressing as a hamster are well behind him.