Ryan Gosling Needs 'A Break From Myself'

There might soon be a time when Ryan Gosling isn't so ready for his close-up. In a new interview, the heartthrob admitted he just wants some time for himself.

"I've been doing it too much. I've lost perspective on what I'm doing. I think it's good for me to take a break and reassess why I'm doing it and how I'm doing it," he told the Associated Press about a potential acting hiatus. "And I think this is probably a good way to learn about that. I need a break from myself as much as I imagine the audience does."

Now that doesn't necessarily mean that moviegoers won't see Gosling on the big screen soon. "The Place Beyond the Pines" opens in limited release next week, and he's already lined up two projects, "Only God Forgives" and director Terrence Malick's next film. But from the sound of it he won't be taking on any more new acting gigs. However, he will still direct his first feature film, the fantasy noir flick "How to Catch a Monster," which will feature "Mad Men" actress Christina Hendricks and "Pines" co-star (and real-life girlfriend) Eva Mendes.

This is hardly Gosling's first declaration that he needs some "me" time. Back in 2011, he made a similar statement in an interview with The Times, via IFC, when he was burning up cinemas with "Drive" and "The Ides of March."

He said, "I've been doing this since I was 12... I don't want to act much longer; I can't do one thing my whole life. I know there are only so many characters I'll be able to play. It will be over whenever the inspiration dries up."

And while celebrities often tease that they plan on taking a break in between gigs, Gosling might not be bluffing. In a 2010 interview with GQ Gosling owned up to a previous hiatus. He shared that shortly after making "The Notebook," he worked at a deli.

"I'd never had a real job," he said at the time. "[People in Hollywood] have meals. They go to Pilates. But it's not enough. So they do drugs. If everybody had a pile of rocks in their backyard and spent every day moving them from one side of the yard to the other, it would be a much happier place."

Do you think Ryan Gosling will really take a break from acting? Leave your prediction in the comments!