You might not know Ryan Gosling's name--yet. But his childhood buddies' should ring a bell. Ever heard of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake or Keri Russell?

Slay anything: Getting all fired up with Michael Pitt in Murder.

Yep, Gosling--who's now starring in Murder by Numbers--is the next Mickey Mouse Club alum to shimmy back into the limelight. But this time around, you're more likely to see him in a straitjacket than goofy mouse ears. Unlike his fellow Mouseketeers, who took the bright, shiny high road to mainstream pop-culture success, the 21-year-old Canadian has been carving a name for himself as the freaky, broody dude you don't want to run into in a dark alley.

Following smaller parts as a football player in Remember the Titans and a self-hating neo-Nazi Jew in the Showtime flick The Believer, Gosling landed more substantial roles as back-to-back psychopaths. In Murder by Numbers, he's a cocky high schooler being hunted by Sandra Bullock after slaughtering a stranger for kicks. And in the upcoming United States of Leland, he's counseled by Don Cheadle at a juvenile detention center after murdering a 15-year-old autistic kid.

Murder. Mayhem. Madness. It sure is a far cry from the happiest show on earth.

Which got us wondering...

How did he get from Mouseketeer to Murder by Numbers?

"You leave The Mickey Mouse Club, and you have this work ethic you can apply to anything. So, I moved out to Los Angeles. It's the classic story of not eating for a year a half and waiting for the right thing. Then this movie with Denzel Washington came along [Remember the Titans]. Murder by Numbers was a conscious choice to work with Barbet Schroeder. I really like his movies, especially Our Lady of Assassins and his documentaries. It was cool to have the opportunity to work with him."

It's a different sort of Hollywood whodunit.

"It's not actually a whodunit, because in the first 10 minutes, you know whodunit--which is what I thought was interesting about it. It's basically all about how they get caught. It's dealing with the practicalities and the ramifications of committing a murder. The script was very disturbing, and it felt like an interesting look at the realities of murder. It's not glamorized at all. This is what it actually takes to commit a crime like this and try and get away with it."

Good for the Gosling: Running Numbers with Sandra at Sundance

Did he always know he wanted to be an actor?

"I don't know. I was thinking about normal kid stuff. Being an astronaut or a policeman or a fireman or whatever. I read this thing in the newspaper about an audition for the Micky Mouse Club. I got it. I went out there; it was a great experience. They gave us this great sense of focus. I think it's the main reason why all the kids from the Club are doing as well as they are."

We hear he was Justin Timberlake's roommate during his second season. So, inquiring, screaming girls will want to know: Does he stay in touch with the 'N Syncer?

"No. We don't really talk. It's like high school. You have great friends and then you get older and you just have your own lives. He's very supportive of me, and I'm very, very supportive of him and extremely proud of him. But he's busy."

Proud? C'mon, he must be just a teensy bit jealous--Justin gets the megabucks and the snake-clad girls, and he...well, he gets the artistic integrity that goes along with the smaller, artsy films.

"If a movie I make makes some money, it'll just be icing on the cake. I've become comfortable with the term box-office poison. I've dealt with it. I'm cool with it. Some people make money on their movies, and some people don't. Josh Hartnett can be in anything, and it'll make $40 million. I make something, and if it makes $10, we're lucky. That's just how it goes."

Hmmm...box-office poison or not, at least he can laugh about it.

"I'm not complaining; it's a beautiful life. I have a dog and great friends. And I make movies I want to make. Maybe one day, when I have kids and a family, I might make decisions in order to put my kids through school, but right now, it's just me, and I don't really need the money. It's like being a picky eater. I'm always jealous of people who aren't picky eaters because they can eat anything. I think it's a much better place to be."

--Anderson Jones