Ryan Gosling Opens Up About His ‘Very Honest’ Daughters with Eva Mendes: ‘Only Critics I Care About’

Ryan Gosling took on his latest movie, Project Hail Mary, with his children in mind.

In the sci-fi film, the 45-year-old actor — who shares daughters Esmeralda, 11, and Amada, 9, with longtime love Eva Mendes — stars as a science teacher-turned-astronaut who embarks on a solo mission to save humanity.

“I made this for them essentially,” he told Access Hollywood. “As a family, I’d like a movie like this that I’d like to see. I just feel really honored that I got to make one.”

The girls weren’t shy about giving their father feedback, either.

“My kids have seen multiple cuts,” Gosling revealed. “They give me multiple notes. They’re basically the only critics I care about, and they are very critical and very honest.”

Gosling was also inspired by his daughters to make Barbie.

After getting offered the part of Ken, he walked out into the backyard and found the doll face down in the mud next to a squished lemon, he recalled during a 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The Golden Globe winner took a photo, texted it to director Greta Gerwig and wrote, “‘I shall be your Ken, for this story must be told,’” he shared with the late night talk show host, 51.

Gosling made sure that his girls got to join him on set, too.

“It was their interest in Barbie and their disinterest in Ken that sort of started all of this,” he explained in a 2024 visit to The Tonight Show. “It’s really been a team effort.”