What HAS happened to Ryan Gosling’s face? From Tom Cruise to Zac Efron, CAROLINE BULLOCK says too many Hollywood hunks now look more chipmunk than chiseled!

He’s hung up Ken’s Stetson, but Ryan Gosling’s apparent passion for plastic may extend beyond playing Barbie’s boyfriend.

With a waxy glow and apparently puffed cheeks, 43-year-old Gosling is causing a stir among concerned fans on social media.

Some wonder if he has been pumping and pumping. He looks more like Amy Schumer than the well-characterized leading man we all love, others say.

And while it’s unknown whether he’s used the usual arsenal of injectables in an attempt to turn back the clock, he’s certainly not the only male A-lister to look more squirrely than chiseled lately.

Now that a group of Hollywood heartthrobs are reaching a certain age, it seems that tucks and adjustments are no longer just reserved for our favorite female stars.

Far too many guys on the big screen are now united in the mistaken belief that padded and bloated equals youthful blossom.

As a result, unnecessary enhancements tend to give our superstars a pale imitation of their former excellent selves, sucking the character and charm out of their rugged good looks.

What ever happened to the golden generation of movie men who stayed hot while gracefully steepening and graying?

Steve McQueen, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Richard Gere – a collective appeal not dampened by a wrinkled forehead and hooded eyes.

While gravity and weathered grit have replaced the boyish charm, many just get better and better as the years go by.

Would Steve McQueen have remained an icon if every line between fast living and chain smoking had been erased with a swollen pillow face?

What about Harrison Ford during his peak in the 1980s? Imagine his eyes are frozen and alarmed instead of sultry and knowing.

Today’s artists are tight-lipped (and fuller) on what exactly they’ve done, which leads to endless unwanted scrutiny.

61-year-old Tom Cruise, still at the top of his game and doing his own stunts, is a good example of this.

Blame it on his own self-imposed time warp that spawned a new Mission Impossible or resurrected his awesome 1986 Top Gun, but rumors that attempts to maintain his boyish appearance may have led to drastic measures.

During a basketball game in San Fransisco in 2021, the actor’s face seemed more pumped up than all the action on the court.

Some suggest that the apparent swelling could be an allergic reaction. Others wondered about the weight gain due to the lockdown.

And for a man with access to the world’s best practitioners and personal trainers, it felt safe to say the hobo look hadn’t been intentional.

Then there’s James Bond star Daniel Craig whose most recent appearance in the film franchise, No Time to Die, revealed he had no time for cheeks.

Famous for adding some much-needed masculinity to the Bond role, a pre-publicity makeover appeared to have left the 56-year-old with a severe attack of facial rigor mortis.

Although these are all small things compared to the exciting saga of Zac Efron.

The High School Musical star – just 36 years old – blamed a collision with a granite fountain at his home for the new face that emerged in 2022. Really, such an accident could only affect the rich and famous of La La Land.

Some might be inclined to put a progressive spin on today’s crop of more groomed male stars.

Hollywood’s men are finally facing the same pressures as their female counterparts due to aging. Wage equality must be close!

Moreover, there are growing concerns about the age gaps in on-screen relationships: the dynamic of older men and much younger women that was the norm for decades is now trickier in a post-MeToo era.

But whatever these guys are doing, it just doesn’t look good.

Joining the vapid vanity of the time-rich youth junkies plaguing our social media feeds is something that seems a little below par for a major Hollywood player.

Of course, some ageless male stars set the bar high.

Brad Pitt’s lifted contours have been the subject of repeated rumors for good reason.

With a jawline as sharp as it was when he was modeling Levi’s jeans in his twenties, the 60-year-old appears to have no plans to part with his looks. (Could his silky skin tone have something to do with his own skincare brand, Le Domaine?)

As for Mr. Gosling, he almost won an Oscar for his rousing song “I’m just Ken” in the Barbie movie — a macho celebration of the world’s most famous man doll.

However, after his recent performances, I fear that life is in danger of imitating art.