Ryan Gosling says Eva Mendes and daughters gave him ‘tips’ before epic ‘I’m Just Ken’ Oscars performance

Ryan Gosling made sure to get his daughters’ stamp of approval ahead of his “I’m Just Ken” performance at the 2024 Oscars.

The “Barbie” star told People Tuesday that he used long-term partner Eva Mendes and their daughters Esmeralda Amada, 9, and Amada Lee, 7, as a sounding board before hitting the stage Sunday night.

“It was great,” the hunky actor, 43, told the outlet at the SXSW festival. “It was so fun because they came to the dress rehearsal the day before and so they were in the front row. They gave me some tips and some notes, all great notes.”

Ryan Gosling told People at the SXSW festival that his partner Eva Mendes and their daughters gave him some advice ahead of his Oscars performance. Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP The three sat front row at his dress rehearsals. Getty Images for Universal Pictures

“They are such a huge part of this for me…it was my girl’s interest in Barbie and disinterest in Ken that got me into this in the first place,” he added. “It was beautiful to have them there at the end.”

While it’s unclear exactly what the girls told him, their advice paid off as Gosling brought the house down with his epic performance of the Oscar-nominated song.

The “La La Land” star opened the number in the audience while seated behind co-star Margot Robbie, who tried to conceal her laughs.

“They gave me some tips and some notes, all great notes,” he said. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP However, he didn’t reveal any of their tips. ABC

He then made his way up to the stage, where he was joined by Mark Ronson, Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash and more than 75 cowboy-hat-clad Kens — including Simu Liu.  

Despite losing the award for best original song, Gosling’s performance — inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s 1953 rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” — ended up being one of the most talked about moments of the night.

Although Mendes, 50, didn’t walk the red carpet with Gosling, the mother of two posted several photos from the “Fall Guy” star’s dressing room on Instagram ahead of the star-studded show.

Gosling stole the show with his epic rendition of the Oscar-nominated song, which ultimately lost for best original song. DISNEY via Getty Images Although Mendes didn’t join Gosling at the awards show, she did post a few photos from backstage. Instagram/@evamendes “Always by my man,” she reminded fans despite her absence. @evamendes/instagram

“Always by my man,” she captioned a clip of herself posing underneath his dressing room sign.

Following the performance, the “Hitch” actress also shared a photo wearing Gosling’s crystal-covered hot pink Gucci suit jacket and custom black Stetson hat.

“You took Ken all the way to the Oscar’s, RG,” she wrote. “Now come home, we need to put the kids to bed. 💋”

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The notoriously private couple has not walked a red carpet together since they began dating in 2012. Splash News They share daughters Esmeralda Amada, 9, and Amada Lee, 7. Tom Meinelt / Splash News

The notoriously private couple has not walked a red carpet together since promoting their 2012 film “The Place Beyond The Pines” — where they met and fell in love. They also rarely share any photos from their home life online.

Mendes explained to her Instagram followers in April 2023 that the twosome “don’t do those things together” to protect their privacy.

The actress said that she is “only comfortable” posting photos of the pair that are “already out there” and prefers to keep their personal pictures for themselves.

When asked to clarify, she explained, “By ‘not comfortable,’ I mean exposing our very private life that we value. I’m still dying to do another movie with him though…♥️.”