Hollywood heartthrob, Ryan Gosling, was offered the opportunity to be a member of the popular 90s boy band the Backstreet Boys, but he decided to turn down their request.
Gosling used to live next door to AJ McLean, who was a member of the group, when the duo were both teenagers. McLean recently told TMZ that he asked Gosling to be in the band but that at first the actor rejected his approach. But the Drive star then returned to his neighbor and asked to be part of the outfit, only for McLean to forget to return his call.
McLean stated in an interview, “Ryan, I am so sorry that I didn’t call you back. If we ever want a sixth Backstreet Boy member I’m gonna call you. You can sing.” The singer then added, “He can sing his ass off. He’s not only a great actor and a handsome man.”
Gosling himself recently spoke of this period, confessing that he’d told McLean at the time, “‘It’s never going to happen. Didn’t they already do that with New Kids? You’re a little late,’ … I was wrong.”
The actor then added that he didn’t have any regrets over his decision, noting, “You can’t live in the past. You’ve got to live in the now. That ship has sailed.”
Both the Backstreet Boys and Ryan Gosling have since gone on to have a hugely successful careers. The pop act sold millions of albums around the world whilst Gosling is regarded as one of Hollywood’s most reliable leading men.
