He’s Literally Me

"He's Literally Me" represents a cultural phenomenon where individuals, predominantly young men, express deep identification with fictional characters who embody traits of social alienation, stoicism, and perceived depth. The meme satirizes while simultaneously reflecting genuine patterns of parasocial identification with media figures, particularly those portrayed by Ryan Gosling and other actors in roles that emphasize masculine isolation and brooding introspection.

The meme format has roots in earlier internet culture, with the phrase "literally me" appearing as a copypasta on 4chan's /co/ board as early as November 17, 2015, in a thread titled "ITT: Characters that are literally, undeniably, without question, you" (Know Your Meme, 2023). However, the modern "He's Literally Me" meme format crystallized in 2018 with specific focus on cinema and character archetypes.

The earliest known version of the contemporary meme was posted by Facebook user Mikael Kael El on August 31, 2018. His post depicted a male teenager sitting in front of a laptop, comparing himself to five iconic smoking figures: Al Pacino in Scarface, Cary Grant, David Bowie, Keanu Reeves in Constantine, and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. Within two years, this post received more than 2,900 shares, 540 reactions, and 250 comments, establishing the template for future iterations (Know Your Meme, 2019).

The meme gained significant momentum when Tumblr user avvocarlo posted a variation on September 1, 2018, featuring a teenager comparing himself to six movie characters closely associated with doomer culture: K from Blade Runner 2049, Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, Luke Glanton from The Place Beyond the Pines, Driver from Drive, Tyler Durden from Fight Club, and Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange. This post gained over 4,200 likes and reblogs in seven months, solidifying the connection between the meme and specific character archetypes (Know Your Meme, 2019).

The phenomenon draws heavily from 4chan's longstanding obsession with Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 film Drive and its protagonist, portrayed by Ryan Gosling. The Driver character—a silent, lonely type who sacrifices his future for others while living a double life as a mechanic and getaway driver—resonated strongly with 4chan's /tv/ board users who identified with traits of social maladjustment and romantic isolation (Know Your Meme, 2024). This identification established Ryan Gosling as the archetypal "Literally Me" character, a status that would persist and expand across his subsequent roles.

The meme experienced a significant resurgence during 2022-2023, coinciding with renewed interest in Gosling following his casting as Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023). The announcement of Gosling's casting on June 15, 2022, immediately inspired memes on social media, with users ironically celebrating the extension of "literally me" culture into the pink, camp world of Barbie (Know Your Meme, 2022). This period saw explosive growth on TikTok, where users created elaborate video montages celebrating Gosling's various "literally me" roles while incorporating the Ken persona.

The characters central to "literally me" culture typically share common traits: social alienation, emotional stoicism, perceived depth beneath surface simplicity, and often tragic or punished narratives. Beyond Gosling's roles, the archetype encompasses characters like Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, and various anime protagonists. These figures are often described as falling within the "sigma male" archetype, representing men who operate outside traditional social hierarchies (Screenshot Media, 2023).

The meme functions on multiple levels simultaneously. For some users, it represents genuine identification with characters who seem to reflect their own experiences of social isolation and misunderstood complexity. For others, it serves as ironic commentary on the tendency to romanticize antisocial or problematic characters. The satirical dimension often highlights the gap between the perceived sophistication of these characters and the reality of users' own lives, creating humor through incongruity.

TikTok's algorithm particularly amplified the meme during 2022-2023, with hashtags like #literallyme, #ryangosling, and #sigma generating millions of views. Users created elaborate video essays, character compilations, and ironic celebrations of Gosling's filmography, often incorporating contemporary internet slang and musical choices that emphasized the contrast between the serious tone of the source material and the playful nature of the meme format.

The phenomenon reflects broader cultural conversations about masculinity, media consumption, and identity formation in digital spaces. Critics argue that "literally me" culture can promote unhealthy identification with antisocial characters, while supporters contend that it provides a outlet for processing experiences of social alienation through shared cultural references. Regardless of interpretation, the meme has become a significant lens through which internet culture examines questions of identity, authenticity, and the relationship between fictional representation and real-world self-perception.