Ryan Gosling paid tribute to Debbie Reynolds, and had some incredibly sweet words to say

We lost a truly inspirational mother/daughter team at the end of 2016. And while we loved their films, we should recognize that certain performances were absolutely enlightening to other young actors and actresses. After Ryan Gosling recently paid tribute to Debbie Reynolds at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, it’s clear that he thought highly of her and her work.

During his small speech, he mentioned how her role in Singin’ In The Rain really helped his critically acclaimed film La La Land. And speaking of La La Land, the film ended up scoring the Vanguard Award at the festival. Gosling mentioned Reynolds after accepting the award with the film’s director, Damien Chazelle, and composer Justin Hurwitz.

"I wish I could have said this in person but I'd like to thank Debbie Reynolds for her wonderful career of work," Gosling said. "She was an inspiration to us every day. We watched Singin' in the Rain every day for inspiration, a truly unparalleled talent so thank you to her for all that inspiration."

Singin’ In The Rain, which came out in 1952, starred Reynolds alongside Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly. Even those who haven’t seen the film in full probably recognize more than one of the incredible songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wI4jJq98tU?feature=oembed

The film also included a lot of dance, which was surely inspiring to Gosling and actress Emma Stone.

In fact, Reynolds didn’t consider herself to be a dancer until she got the role, and had to learn. It was definitely a skill that ended up helping her throughout her impressive career.

We’re so glad that Gosling got a chance to pay his respects. We know his words are genuine, and truly get the feeling that Debbie Reynolds helped him learn how to master a musical.