Conan O’Brien ‘Showing Real’ Promise With Acting, Leaning on Pal Ryan Gosling to Fine-Tune Skills

Ryan Gosling — the Barbie flick’s hunky Ken — has quietly struck up a surprise friendship with funnyman Conan O’Brien, sources say.

The 44-year-old Notebook heartthrob has a reputation as one of Tinseltown’s most solitary celebrities — he rarely hangs with his acting peers, preferring to hole up with longtime galpal-actress Eva Mendes, 51, and their daughters Esmeralda, 11, and Amada, 9.

But that’s changing thanks to his burgeoning bromance with the 62-year-old late-night host, who’s got Eva’s stamp of approval.

Reveals a pal, “The whole Mendes-Gosling household is mad about Conan.”

“They’ve socialized with him regularly over the 15 or so years that Conan has lived in L.A., especially as Ryan became one of Conan’s favorite guests on his old TBS show [Conan], where they would do some pretty elaborate bits that almost always went viral.”

Gosling nabbed an Oscar nomination for his Ken role in the 2023 blockbuster movie Barbie, costarring Margot Robbie.

Now, sources say he’s looking to Saturday Night Live alum O’Brien for inspiration to polish his comedy skills.

“Ryan has been a student of comedy since he was a kid, and Conan has become his Obi-Wan Kenobi mentor,” notes the pal.

“He’s helped Ryan sharpen his skills and get huge laughs doing it. Ryan’s Barbie role was a culmination of that, but far from the end.”

“Ryan’s next blockbuster, Project Hail Mary, is one of his most comedic to date.”

But the bromance is a two-way street.

“Conan has leaned on Ryan and some of his other ‘serious actor’ pals as he starts to dip into film acting opportunities of his own, starting with the critically acclaimed Sundance hit coming out later this year with Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.” Sources say Conan’s performance is excellent.

“Conan has turned down a lot of movies over the years but he’s showing real skill when it comes to film acting and he wants to make more movies, which is why you could see him turn up in a big project with one of his acting friends like Ryan, Timothy Olyphant or Will Ferrell.”