Ryan Gosling : 'Notebook director said I wasn't handsome or cool'

Ryan Gosling has claimed that Notebook director Nick Cassavetes cast him in the picture for his "regular" looks.

The Drive star told Company that the director said he wanted him for the 2004 movie because he was less attractive than other actors.

"The director, Nick Cassavetes, called me to meet him at his house," Gosling said.

"When I got there, he was standing in his back yard, and he looked at me and said, 'I want you to play this role because you're not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You're not handsome, you're not cool, you're just a regular guy who looks a bit nuts'."

Gosling said that he grew up as a "lonely child" who "didn't do well at school", adding: "TV was my only friend."

The actor revealed that he was inspired to act by an appearance by Raquel Welch on The Muppet Show.

"She was the first crush I ever had, and I thought, 'How do I get to meet this woman?'" he said

"And then I thought, 'Well, she's on TV, so to meet her I have to get on TV myself.' "

Bradley Cooper has said that Gosling's looks made him question his own title as 'People's Sexiest Man Alive'.