Ryan Gosling was obsessed with soap operas when he was growing up.

The Project Hail Mary actor, 45, has admitted he didn't have many friends as a kid and spent most of his time watching TV - revealing he loved morning talk show Live! With Regis And Kelly and long-running soap Days Of Our Lives.

During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ryan explained: "I didn't have a lot of friends growing up. I had TV. I used to pretend to be sick so I could stay home and watch Regis and Kelly. I loved Regis and Kelly and Days Of Our Lives ..."

The Barbie actor went on to insist soap stars aren't given the credit they deserve because actors like longtime Days Of Our Lives castmember Deidre Hall

provided him with an "incredible acting class" when he watched her on TV.

He explained: "Days of Our Lives, soap opera actors in general, they do not get the love they deserve ... [They have to] memorise [the script] the night before, like 10 pages of dialogue. They get one take.

"And it's impossible scenarios like when [Days of Our Lives character Marlena Evans], [played by actress] Deidre Hall, gets possessed - this was right around when X-Files was a big deal, suddenly everything got supernatural - she got possessed by the devil ...

"It was an incredible acting class ... what's amazing is that I remember thinking that Deidre Hall is a great actress because she's having to act possessed right now. This seems like a lot to ask of her.

"And that was when I stopped watching the show, not because of that but because I had to live my life.

"And just recently it was on TV and she's possessed again ... My life keeps crossing the paths of when Deidre Hall is possessed."

When asked about rumours he's a big fan of UK sci-fi show Doctor Who, Ryan admitted he did used to watch it but he preferred soaps.

He explained: "I'm not as deep [into Doctor Who] ... I remember thinking it was super cool when we were growing up. I wasn't on the schedule with it."