Ryan Gosling! - Fox Kids Magazine - 1998 (Fall)
These are scans of the YH-centric pages from the Fall 1998 issue of Fox Kids Magazine, featuring Ryan Gosling and mentioning Dean O'Gorman, Kevin Sorbo, and Lucy Lawless.
Hercules - Sometimes it's just tough being the son of the king of the gods. But Hercules is on the path to learning what it takes to become a hero.
Iolaus - Training partner and trusted ally of young Hercules. Like a true friend, he's always at Hercules' side, jumping headfirst into adventure!
Ryan Gosling!
He's not a Greek hero (half god, half mortal), but he plays one on TV. As Young Hercules, Ryan Gosling gets a chance to flex his acting muscles, find the power within his heart, and wear a really cool costume. FOX KIDS got the scoop on the hunky hero, while he was filming in New Zealand.
TFK: What was your first acting job?
rg: I was on the Mickey Mouse Club. That was great fun. It was like Saturday Night Live for kids. Singing, dancing, skits. Great, now it's out of the bag. Everyone will know that I sing and dance.
TFK: What kind of martial arts training had you done before you started Young Hercules?
rg: None. I watched a lot of kung fu movies, tons of them. I had a Blockbuster belt! I started training with Doug Wong just before the show. He's the same guy that trained Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless. He taught me a lot about weapons and how to stand and stuff.
TFK: Do you have a girlfriend?
rg: No, I don't have time. I'd have to meet a pretty special girl who would understand my schedule.
TFK: What makes you fall for a girl?
rg: She'd have to be super understanding about the work, that it takes so much out of you that you really don't have time for many other things. She'd have to be someone who was willing to accept that; that's pretty special.
TFK: How do you think you'll recognize Ms. right?
rg: If she asked me out...
TFK: What does a guy like Hercules eat for lunch?
rg: Well, I eat whatever's on the catering truck. They have this stuff here called kumra. It's a little bit like a sweet potato. They make kumra fries, baked kumra. It's terrific. Really great.
TFK: Have you ever met Xena?
rg: Yeah, I met Lucy. She came to the set with her kids. She gave me good advice about playing the part.
TFK: What's the most exciting thing you've ever done on the show?
rg: Probably being chased by a huge fireball. That was pretty neat. We set off about 25 of them. They were these huge, huge blasts and we were running away from them, and they had the whole back of our heads greased up so we couldn't catch on fire. It was pretty neat.
TFK: What's the wackiest thing that's ever happened to you on any set?
rg: Just yesterday I was covered in mud for the entire day. I had to do this scene where I was pretending to be like my friend, Iolaus. I had a mop on my head and I was rolling around in a pigpen, just covered in mud the whole day, acting with pigs.
TFK: Is it ever dangerous, doing this kind of thing? Do you do your own stunts or do you have stunt people?
rg: I try and do as much as I can, but anything that is too dangerous, they don't let us do.
TFK: What's the weather like in New Zealand?
rg: The seasons are the exact opposite from over there. right now we're going into winter. It's getting kind of cold and we're running around the forest half naked. It's not as glamorous as you thought. Fiji is right near here, about an hour away. Hopefully we can make a trip out there.
TFK: How do you feel about the costumes you wear on the show?
rg: It's the kind of costume that you really have to like because I don't change, I wear that every day. It's all made out of leather; it's finely woven. They're really beautiful and intricate. I'm pretty lucky - I have the coolest costume on the set (don't tell anybody I said that).
TFK: Do you have any advice for kids who might want to be actors?
rg: It's something you just have to stick with. It's not something that's going to happen right away. Ninety-nine percent of the business is rejection. Maybe that one time or one percent you get work or positive feedback (at least that's my experience). You just have to stick it out. It's a lot of fun and you have to take everything with a grain of salt.
TFK: Why should kids watch Young Hercules?
rg: Because it's going to be fun! It's completely different from anything that's on right now, as far as kids' shows go. come hang out with us!
This all-new live-action series comes to FOX KIDS every Tuesday though Saturday!
