Thanks to legions of teary-eyed romcom fans, a feminist-leaning meme and never eating his bloody cereal, Ryan Gosling has come to embody some kind of emotionally intelligent manhood ideal (on the internet, at least).

And it’s a pedestal from which he is apparently not falling anytime soon, as in a recent interview he skipped any pretence and went straight for the lady vote, declaring that women are, quite simply, better than men.

Speaking to ES Magazine, Gosling says: “I think women are better than men. They are stronger, more evolved. You can tell especially when you have daughters and you see their early stages, they are just leaps and bounds beyond boys immediately.”

Since 2004’s The Notebook, adulation has come thick and fast for Gosling, 35, with a dedicated Tumblr spawning the much-used Hey Girl meme, leading to a feminist spin-off (“Hey girl, I do not need a binder of women since I have an overall commitment to fair and inclusive hiring practices at all times”), several other blogs and random Gosling-loving merchandise.

In the interview, the former Mouseketeer addresses what the publication terms as “unwanted fuss” from “women and gay men”, seeming to compare the attention on him with the attention he saw the women in his family getting: “I grew up with women so I’ve always been aware of it.

“When my mother and I walked to the grocery store, men would circle the block in cars. It was very, very scary, especially as a young boy. Very predatory – a hunt.”

The actor has two daughters with wife Eva Mendes, with Amada Lee arriving in late April this year.

And in case you were wondering, last year, Gosling finally ate his cereal in tribute to the man who created the videos, Ryan McHenry, who passed away in May 2015 from bone cancer.

Images: Getty / Rex Features