The Twins from The Shining
Ryan Gosling is a masterful storyteller. Watch any of his interviews and you’ll notice how effortlessly he pulls you into the story. As he sets the scene, he pokes fun at himself and the events, delivering succinct stories without rambling. One thing he consistently does is highlight key details that make all the difference.
Eight years ago, Ryan appeared on The Graham Norton Show as part of his press tour for La La Land. Graham’s show, a British comedy chat show, features four or five celebrity guests onstage at once.
During this appearance, Graham brought up Ryan’s past as a dancer. Ryan then shared a story about his experience in a childhood dance competition. You can watch his 90-second retelling in this video (queued to start at his story—fair warning, there’s a middle finger involved). Stick around for another 60 seconds, and you’ll even see footage of him dancing.
Let’s break down what makes Ryan’s storytelling so compelling.
Set the Context: Young Dancers Can Be Quite Vicious
Graham introduces Ryan’s past in a dance troupe, commenting, “Young dancers can be quite vicious.” Ryan plays along, replying, “It’s a cutthroat business, I had to get out.”
He then sets the context: he was competing on the TV Show, Canadian Star Search and had made it to the finals. His main competition? A pair of tap-dancing twins performing Two Hearts by Phil Collins.
Lean into Assumptions: Heart-Shaped Hair Bows
Ryan describes the twins’ heart-shaped hair bows, using his hands to mimic the shape above his head. “They were the ones to beat,” he says.
Emma Stone playfully punctuates this with an exaggerated, “OOOOOOooooooo!”
Ryan masterfully selects this one detail—the heart-shaped bows—to help shape our assumptions. In just a few words, we picture the twins as sweet, polished, and adorable. And with that, we understand the stakes: how do you beat an adorable, bow-wearing set of twins in a dance competition?
Share Specific Details: This is How You Open a Winning Dance Number
Ryan recalls wishing the twins luck before stepping onstage to perform his dance to Everybody Dance Now by C+C Music Factory. He lifts his arms into a dab and says, “This is how you start a winning dance number if you want to know.”
With this visual, he engages our senses, pokes fun at himself, and immerses us in the moment.
Conflict: Not So Sweet – The Shining
Ryan continues, “I look up just offstage, and the twins are standing there like the twins from The Shining.”
He holds his hands up, palms out, side-by-side pantomiming their eerie stance.
“And they’re just going like this.”
He reenacts them flipping him off.
These details make the story shine. Even if you haven’t seen The Shining, you get the reference. Ryan challenges our assumptions—these weren’t just sweet, bow-wearing dancers. They were fierce competitors determined to take him down. In a few quick beats, he builds and releases tension, positioning them as the story’s villains.
Outcome: Shimmying to Victory
“Alright, that means war,” Ryan declares. He wraps up the story with, “I just shimmied my way to that tiny little trophy” as he performs a few exaggerated shimmying dance moves with his hands and chest.
Why this Works
Ryan's storytelling style hinges on a few specific moments. He doesn’t overload the audience with unnecessary information. Instead, he picks specific details that draw you in: the twins’ hair bows, his dramatic opening dance pose, and their offstage middle finger. By pairing these with gestures, he visually pulls us into the moment. They allow us to make assumptions about the events and characters, telling us everything we need to know about their personalities and motivations.
The story follows a simple, effective structure: he sets the context with a time, place, and major characters. He builds conflict and tension by making us recognize the stakes. Then he delivers an unexpected twist. That tension is released as he shimmies his way to the trophy.
The humor is light and balanced. He’s self-deprecating, poking fun at himself as a young dancer. But he also pokes fun at the dance competition and his “villains”: the twins. It’s relatable to experiences we’ve all had.
What You Can Learn From Ryan
Watch any of Ryan’s interviews and you’ll recognize his signature storytelling style: a simple structure, specifically chosen details punctuated with gestures, and light humor pokes fun at the events and characters. He tells quick, impactful stories because he doesn’t get bogged down in unnecessary details.
Next time you tell a story, use the simple structure: set the context, describe the conflict, and reveal the outcome. Choose three details from the events or characters to draw the audience in. Incorporate hand gestures to act out a characteristic or key moment. This approach creates memorable, engaging stories that don’t ramble.
