Ryan Gosling’s viral Critics Choice reaction is more complex than you’d think – body language expert weighs in

Ryan Gosling was the talk of tinseltown after January 14’s Critics Choice Awards for his reaction to Barbie’s win in the Best Song category.

The 43-year-old actor and musician quickly went viral when the song “I’m Just Ken” was announced as the winner for the category, beating out favorites like Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”

His stunned face, darting eyes, and delayed response to songwriters and producers Andrew Wyatt and Mark Ronson’s win became an instant meme, and while he didn’t go up on stage to accept the prize, he won the internet.

Inbaal Honigman, a celebrity body language expert, gave HELLO! her own take on the viral response, and broke it down, saying that it had “three separate parts.”

“The first, and most telling part, is genuine confusion,” she explains. “His eyebrows are lowered, and a telltale frown line appears between his eyes, which tells that he’s trying to figure something out. 

“His face is gathered in that confused expression from the moment that the song title is announced, so he’s not putting it on for show. Gosling is truly uncertain, in case he misheard, or imagined it, or if it’s some sort of practical joke or a mistake.”

She then says that the next few seconds, where he begins darting his eyes from side to side, was more for the sake of the bit, perhaps even a nod to everyone’s favorite himbo, Ken. “The second part of his response is clearly a joke. 

“His eyes dart from side to side as if he’s a little suspicious, trying to think what he should do, but it’s not a natural movement, as we can see his pupils go to the extreme edge of his eye. He’s exaggerating the eye movement for comic effect, and perhaps even as an homage to Ken’s character, who struggled with reality throughout the Barbie movie.”

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Inbaal then concludes that when reality sets in, the reaction switches to pure joy. “When he understands that the song actually won, we see the heartthrob’s true reaction, part three of his response.”

She continues: “As all are kissing the songwriters, Gosling is seen drawing in a deep breath, showing relief. He’s now quite certain that this is really happening.

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“His combination of raised eyebrows with closed eyes and a little, subtle, humble smile, shows his sublime happiness at that moment.” 

Inbaal expands upon the thought, concluding: “Supported by Mark Ronson’s natural head shake which signifies disbelief, we now learn that the whole team wasn’t expecting to win. This combined reaction from the two winners is too quick to have been coordinated, and so is likely very heartfelt and genuine surprise.”

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In his speech, Oscar-winning songwriter and composer Mark thanked Ryan for making the song such a moment, saying: “Ryan Gosling, this is just as much your award as ours.

“You made the audience fall in love with your matchless performance,” he said, also thanking director Greta Gerwig for carving out “11 minutes for this prog-rock, power ballad, dream ballet, shred-fest so the boys could cry and hold hands a little too.”

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