This is a collection of nine separate essays, each one dissecting a different role Ryan Gosling has played in a movie. Every movie Ryan Gosling has been in gets mentioned in A REAL HUMAN BEING, but the nine featured roles are: Noah Calhoun from The Notebook, Lars Lindstrom from Lars and the Real Girl, Jacob Palmer from Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Driver from Drive, Luke Glanton from The Place Beyond the Pines, Jared Bennett from The Big Short, Holland March from The Nice Guys, Sebastian Wilder from La La Land, and Beach Ken from Barbie.