Ryan Gosling Says Fatherhood Made Him Understand His “Project Hail Mary” Character's Mission on a Deeper Level (Exclusive)

The actor is a father to daughters Amada Lee, 9, and Esmeralda Amada, 11

NEED TO KNOW

• Ryan Gosling says fatherhood made him view his Project Hail Mary character’s decisions differently
• Gosling’s daughters helped him on set by voicing his alien costar during filming, adding personal charm to scenes
• The actor and longtime love Eva Mendes prioritize privacy for their daughters and focus on hands-on parenting when not working

For Ryan Gosling, being a father gave him a different perspective than his Project Hail Mary character.

While speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the New York premiere for the film on Wednesday, March 18, the actor, 45, shares how the decision his character Ryland has to make in the film becomes "easy" with kids. Gosling, who's a father to daughters Amada Lee, 9, and Esmeralda Amada, 11, acknowledges that deciding what to do was "different" for his character, who didn't have any children.

"I think, yeah, once you have kids, it's like those [decisions] are easy. It's an easy call to make," he tells PEOPLE. "I think it's different for this character because he doesn't have that. And yeah, so it's much more of an existential crisis for him, too."

"And he doesn't believe in himself very much anyway, and I think that's also what's so relatable about his journey," he adds. "He has to learn to believe in himself, and he's put into this situation that forces him to find what's in there that he didn't know was there, and I think we all have that in us. It's just, what are the circumstances that will bring it out?"

The Notebook star shares his two daughters with longtime love Eva Mendes. The couple — who have been together since 2011 — first met while filming The Place Beyond the Pines. Gosling previously spoke with PEOPLE about his new film says filming specific scenes was tough, especially since sometimes his alien costar was not actually there. Luckily, his two daughters were happy to lend a hand.

"Sometimes when I was working and I needed to sort of switch things up or whatever, my kids would come in and I had an earpiece in my ear and they would talk for Rocky, so I could talk to them as Rocky," Gosling told PEOPLE. "And there's some moments in the movie where I'm laughing or I'm just so charmed by him, which is like, it's actually my kids talking to me and helping me out."

"They've seen many cuts of this film," said Gosling of his kids. "They've given me many notes."

Gosling and Mendes stay fairly tight-lipped about their personal lives, especially regarding their daughters.

"I have always had a clear boundary when it comes to my man and my kids. I'll talk about them of course, with limits, but I won't post pictures of our daily life," Mendes wrote on Instagram in April 2020. "Since my children are still so little and don't understand what posting their image really means, I don't have their consent. And I won't post their image until they're old enough to give me consent."

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In August 2023, a source told PEOPLE that Gosling and Mendes are "hands-on parents and have little help." The insider added, "When they are not working, they are all about their girls."

Gosling echoed that while talking to Variety in February 2024. "It's going super fast. I hear the clock ticking," he said, referring to time with his daughters. "I don't know how much time I'm going to get and I don't want to spend it in the wrong place. I know I'm not spending it in the wrong place if I'm with family."

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