The Backstreet Boys have been a boy band mainstay for 20 years, and now it has come to light that handsome heartthrob Ryan Gosling could have been a part of the pop lineup.

AJ McLean dished to TMZ that he and Gosling were friends before stardom hit for either of them. They lived in the same apartment complex when Gosling was getting his start as a cast member on 'The Mickey Mouse Club.'

As the five-piece boy band was gaining notoriety, Ryan supposedly wanted to be a part of it and called up his pal. Unfortunately, McLean never returned his calls. "I want to say to Ryan Gosling, I am so sorry I didn't call you back, dude," the BSB member tells TMZ.

McLean wasn't too proud to call his friend back, he simply didn't have Gosling's number at the time. However, the singer says Gosling has all the talent to be an honorary member of the group. "He can sing his a-- off. He's not only a great actor, and a handsome man, but he's a great singer."

The Hollywood star isn't likely to take McLean up on that offer, though. In an interview with Celebuzz, the 'Gangster Squad' actor said of his missed boy-band opportunities, “You can’t live in the past. You’ve got to live in the now. That ship has sailed."

Watch the Backstreet Boys 'I Want It That Way' Video

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