Movies Damien Chazelle says Ryan Gosling is one of few actors of his generation who has mastered art of film acting "Something that is really specific to film acting is being able to convey a whole saga in a close-up," Chazelle said during a talk at TIFF. By Maureen Lee Lenker Maureen Lee Lenker Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen. EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 12, 2022 02:17PM EDT Hey girl, Damien Chazelle loves Ryan Gosling just as much as you do. While appearing at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival for a conversation focused on his directing career, Oscar winner Chazelle explained his love of working with Gosling (they collaborated on both 2016's La La Land and 2018's First Man). "In a way, it's the same thing you can say about a lot of the greatest film actors," Chazelle said of his admiration for Gosling and the actor's face. "Something that feels like it's fundamental to film acting as opposed to other kind of acting is the art of conveying a ton by seeming to do very little." In perhaps a nod to his next film, Babylon, about Hollywood in the 1920s, Chazelle compared Gosling to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino. Ryan Gosling showing off his acting skill in Damien Chazelle's 'The First Man'. Daniel McFadden/Universal Pictures "It goes back to the earliest silent film actors, if you think of Chaplin or Valentino," he said. "There's a few people, not many, who, if you just park the camera on their face they can tell a whole story with only the slightest fluctuation of the brow or their eyebrows or their lips or even with no movement at all. Just holding a certain kind of expression." That economy of movement and ability to convey so much with just his face is what sets Gosling apart for Chazelle. "Ryan is one of the handful of people today who have really mastered that art form," he concluded. "Acting as an art form has existed for millennia, it's one of the oldest art forms we have. But the art of film acting is still much younger, and something that is really specific to film acting is being able to convey a whole saga in a close-up." Gosling will next be seen in the day-glo fever drama that appears to be Greta Gerwig's Barbie, while Chazelle's next release (alas, sans Gosling) is this Christmas' Babylon. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Related content: La La Land director breaks down the movie's amazing opening Tobey Maguire sets first acting role in 7 years with Damien Chazelle's Babylon Ryan Gosling was Damien Chazelle's only choice for First Man