You Won't Be Able to Unsee Ryan Gosling's La La Land Confession

Ryan Gosling wishes he could go back to the city of stars.

When the Barbie actor was asked if there's a role he would like to redo, Ryan revealed there's actually a moment in 2016's La La Land—during a dance number with costar Emma Stone—that "haunts" him to this day.

"We're dancing, Emma and I," he explained to WSJ Magazine in a May 2 TikTok video, "and we—I didn't know this would become the poster for the movie—but we were supposed to have our hands up, and I thought it'd be cool to put my hand like that."

Ryan demonstrated for the magazine, showing that instead of raising his arm in the air at a straight angle like Emma, he tilted his wrist down, giving his hand a flat look, or as Ryan calls it, "la la hand."

At the time, everyone told him to stick to the choreography for the song "A Lovely Night," explaining that it wasn't a good idea. However the 43-year-old was positive a flat hand was cooler than an angled hand. But looking back on it now, Ryan hates it, adding that it "just killed the energy." Instead, he thinks it gave his hand a lazy look, known as "hamburger hands" in the dance world.

And sadly, even a background in dance couldn't save Ryan.

"I thought it would help in La La Land," he continued, "and then of course, hamburger hands Gosling over here. It didn't help me at all in the end."

On the plus side, his dancing skills did come in handy for his incredibly epic performance of "I'm Just Ken" at the 2024 Academy Awards.

In fact, Ryan was so committed to making sure that bit went over perfectly, he was very much involved in the entire process, even making sure to include his La La Land costar Emma—along with his Barbie collaborators Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and Greta Gerwig.

And would you believe? There was not one "la la hand" to be seen.