The Meanings Behind Ryan Gosling's 5 Known Tattoos

If you look closely at Gosling's left forearm, he has a tattoo of what appears to be a cactus — but looks can be deceiving. In a 2011 interview, Gosling admitted that the ink is actually a botched homemade tattoo, and it was originally supposed to be a monster hand dropping a bleeding heart.

Gosling's barcode tattoo — a (slightly more successful) DIY tattoo — is displayed prominently on his left wrist, although he typically covers it up with a watch. The actor said in a 2007 interview with The Guardian, "A tattoo should never be meaningful, because at a certain point you're going to hate it, and it might as well make you laugh." His "it's not that deep" attitude is definitely at play with this ink.

Check out Gosling's inner left bicep: tucked under his T-shirt you'll see that he has an outline tattoo of a woman ghost posing next to a skeleton. While he has never confirmed its meaning, the design is said to be modeled after a famous photo of Hollywood actor Theda Bara, who starred in films from 1914 to 1926.

Ryan Gosling's "Esme" Hand Tattoo

Gosling has a subtle set of finger tattoos on the knuckles of his left hand that spell out "Esme" — his nickname for his daughter Esmeralda. Fans speculated that this most recent tattoo, which he got in 2015, was temporary, but others believe the ink is permanent. He has neither confirmed nor denied the rumors.