Ryan Gosling never actually said the words ‘Hey, Girl’

The truth behind our favourite Hollywood dreamboat's 'catchphrase'

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase ‘Hey, girl’?

Let’s face it, the answer is probably Ryan Gosling.

But here’s the thing – the star himself never actually said those words.

That’s right, despite thousands of Gosling memes devoted to the 'catchphrase', the real Ryan Gosling says he has never actually uttered the words ‘Hey, girl' on screen or otherwise.

Mugs, tea towels, car stickers, mouse mats, pillows, caps - you name it, someone has got it emblazoned with Ryan’s faux inspirational quotes.

Despite being a fantastic actor with a wealth of great roles and quotable lines to his name – lines that he has actually said – it seems that ‘Hey, girl’ will remain his most famous non-quote ever.

Anyone who has eyes can see why the 35 year old Canadian is the subject of so many heart-melting memes, and has collected an army of fans ever since he first heated up movie screens as Noah in The Notebook, fighting for his relationship with Ally (Rachel McAdams) and telling her that ‘It still isn’t over’. We can all appreciate the popularity of Brand Gosling, even if no-one can work out where 'Hey, Girl' came from - least of all Gosling himself.

‘I never said it’ Ryan insisted in a tongue-in-cheek promo video for his upcoming film ‘The Nice Guys’ with co-star Russell Crowe, ‘I understand that if you’re in a movie and you say “you complete me” or “I’m just a girl standing in front of a guy” that follows you around and you’ve got to own that… but I never said it.’

We can see where Ryan is coming from, though it looks like the 'Hey, Girl' tag is unlikely to go away any time soon.

We'll leave you instead with a picture of Ryan in Crazy Stupid Love. Because any excuse.

Now let’s all go and watch The Notebook.