RYAN GOSLING IS QUITE THE DOLL.

Byline: MELISSA HECKSCHER

>LA.COM 

Twenty-seven-year-old Ryan Gosling is used to sharing the spotlight with his leading ladies.

In "The Notebook," he and Rachel McAdams had that MTV-Award-winning "Best Kiss." In "Murder by Numbers," he played alongside Sandra Bullock. (Both women he reportedly later dated.)

But none of his female leads compare to Bianca, the life-size silicone doll, who is his co-star in "Lars and the Real Girl," opening Friday.

In the film, Gosling plays an introverted nice guy who develops a delusional -- and adorably sincere -- relationship with a 120-pound sex doll.

LA.com sat down with Gosling, nominated for an Oscar earlier this year ("Half Nelson"), to find out more about the film, his relationship with Bianca, his naked-lady-and-a-skeleton tattoo, and more.

It's a strange concept for a movie. How do you describe it to people?

It lives in the same building -- it's in the same apartment complex -- as "Harvey" and "Harold and Maude." There's something about those films, they're genres unto themselves. ... Those films where you think they'll never make anything else like them. And when I read this script I thought, "Man, this is my opportunity."

This movie could have so easily gone wrong. What kept it on track?

Craig Gillespie. The director. You'd think as soon as you get a guy into a room with a sex doll, (nobody) is ever going to take it seriously. But somehow Craig managed to do it, and it's because he took it seriously.

Was there just one doll?

She had a stunt double. You know, for anything that was too dangerous.

Did you do the read-through with Bianca?

Yeah. She was next to me. And I kept looking at her and -- She's so beautiful. She had a real presence.

So there was a lot of chemistry between you and her?

There was chemistry. I found her endlessly fascinating. I could look at her forever. I would do scenes with her and I would think, "Oh my God, she blinked." Or, "She just looked at me, and she turned her head." She was so lifelike.

Were there any temptations, you know, set her up ...

No. I mean, the idea for the movie is that we would never objectify her and that we'd all respect her like a real person -- like Lars did.

Why isn't the doll here?

She's at my house.

Really?

Yeah. (laughing)

You took her home?

Yeah. Well, I have a Bianca, and Craig has a Bianca. I took her out the other night. We went out to play pool. That's the thing -- they dropped her off at my house and I was going to go out that night and I thought, "I can't really leave her." I felt bad leaving her. I was like, "Aw, well, I guess I'll bring her." So I brought her out to the bar. But as soon as you bring Bianca, the whole party livens up.

I'm having a really hard time taking you seriously. No, I'm serious.

I mean, it's OK, if you're keeping the doll --

Is it? It's going to have to be.

But isn't she going to get in the way of your future relationships?

Well, you know, we don't have a physical relationship. We're just buddies. (laughing) And any girl who can't accept that is not my kind of girl.

Why haven't you done any comedies?

The stuff I read, they're not movies that I think are funny. They just don't make me laugh. ... I think (comedy) is a real art form but it's not for everybody.

Comedians are terrifying people though. Do you know any comedians? They're so dark. It's like they hate themselves. They have to make something funny.

They say actors become actors because they're missing something inside.

Well, you know actors -- they need to be the center of attention.

You seem like you're pretty humble.

It's an act. I have a gigantic ego.

What's your tattoo of?

A naked lady and a skeleton.

What made you get that particular picture?

I just liked it. When I was a kid, there was a janitor at our school who was covered in tattoos, and he always had naked ladies and skeletons. I always thought that there was no other tattoo. It was a naked lady and a skeleton and that's it.

So what's your favorite kind of food?

I'm big into Moroccan food now because I have a Moroccan restaurant that's on Robertson and Wilshire. It's called Tagine.

Why did you open a Moroccan restaurant?

Because my buddy's Moroccan, and he's a great chef, and I thought he should have a restaurant.

So what kind of movie will you never do?

Something I wouldn't do right now might be something I'll be trying to convince everybody to let me do three years from now. I never thought I'd do a love story when I did "The Notebook." And then I realized that in some way, all the movies that I make are love stories. There's no reason to make a movie if it's not about love.

So I guess you're dating Bianca now?

Kind of. (Quietly) If only she were alive -- we'd be married.

Melissa Heckscher, [phone]

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Photo:

Actor Ryan Gosling stars as Lars Lindstrom, who treats his sex doll as his girlfriend in "Lars and the Real Girl."

JOHN LAZAR>LA.COM