Ryan Gosling Made Dreamy And Heartwarming Comments About Eva Mendes While Accepting The Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film

Ryan Gosling gushed over his longtime partner Eva Mendes while accepting an award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival last night.

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Ryan received the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, an honor given “to a lifelong contributor to cinema through their work in front of the camera, behind, or both.”

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According to People, Ryan noted in his speech how grateful he was for his career, as it connected him to Eva, whom he met while shooting 2012’s The Place Beyond the Pines.

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“Most importantly, I got to meet the girl of my dreams, Eva Mendes, and have two dream children,” he said, referring to his and Eva’s daughters, Esmeralda Amada, 9, and Amada Lee, 7.

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“I dreamed of one day making movies, and now, movies have made my life a dream,” the actor continued.

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Ryan also shouted out his mom Donna. He said after discovering his interest in acting, she homeschooled him for a year “to show me how to create my own story.”

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“That open door wasn’t an elevator that went straight to the top, but I was able to help my mom pay the rent. And by playing other people, I was learning who I was in the process,” Ryan added.

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You can read his full remarks — which mentioned Barbie director Greta Gerwig and his former Crazy, Stupid, Love. costar Steve Carell, among others — here.