Ryan Gosling was raised in a devout Mormon household, and throughout his early life, religion controlled every detail of his daily routine. Gosling struggled with growing up in such a restricted environment, saying that at the time, religion controlled “everything — what they ate, how they thought.” While Gosling is no longer deeply connected to religion, he respects those who are.

Growing up religious did little to keep Gosling in check. He began acting out in school and taking his frustrations out on his classmates, earning the nickname “Trouble.” Gosling didn’t change his ways until he got suspended for bringing a backpack full of steak knives to school to throw at his classmates, having been inspired by “Rambo.”

Although he was a bit of a bully himself, he wasn’t immune from being the target of torment. Gosling was bullied so much that he chose to drop out of public school and pursue homeschooling with his mother as his teacher instead. Gosling has said, “I was a lonely child […] TV was my only friend,” which ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in acting.

During his years at school, Gosling struggled with reading and learning, which impacted his self-worth. The actor has since been diagnosed with ADHD, but at the time he said, “I didn’t feel very smart. They kept passing me in school even though I didn’t know how to do things I should have known how to do […] I couldn’t absorb any of the information, so I caused trouble.”

When Gosling was a teenager, his parents went through a messy divorce with allegations of domestic violence on both sides. The divorce caused Gosling to lash out like he had as a child, and the actor recalled, “I was doing crazy things because I felt claustrophobic and panicky.” Luckily, Gosling was able to start working and remove himself from the situation.