Ryan Gosling's SNL Sketches Made Him The Only Possible Choice For Ken
Sometimes a celebrity will host "Saturday Night Live" for the first time and absolutely nail it, and Ryan Gosling is the perfect example. His episode was a surprise highlight of the 41st season, with its big claim to fame being that viral alien sketch with Kate McKinnon. The clip has 58 million views on YouTube in part because of how well-written and performed McKinnon's crass, disgruntled character is, but it's also because Gosling gets hit hard by the giggles halfway through. Actors breaking on "SNL" can be a lot of fun when it feels genuine, and Gosling's hosting stints were filled with him trying (and failing) not to laugh in live sketches.
But in that 2015 debut episode of his, maybe Gosling's best performance was actually "Santa Baby," a pre-taped sketch in which he and Vanessa Bayer play a married couple at a polite neighborhood Christmas party. The catch is that these two genuinely believe in Santa Clause, and when their neighbor tells his kids that Santa's coming over soon, the couple ends up turning the party into a hostage situation in their desire to meet the Old Saint Nick in person.
It's the best sketch in the episode in part because of how much it genuinely delves into dark, disturbing territory, with both Gosling and Vanessa Bayer are giving serious dramatic performances all throughout. Maybe the funniest moment is when Beck Bennett's character tells them that Rudolph isn't there, in which Gosling slams a candy cane on the table and says, "Then how the f*** did Santa get here, David?" Because it's not a live sketch, there is no breaking here; Gosling delivers this insane line with total commitment, and that's what makes the whole thing work.
For "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig, that skill of Gosling's is invaluable, and a huge part of the reason he was cast as Ken.
Born for the role
In "Barbie," Ryan Gosling's Ken is patently ridiculous throughout the whole runtime. He goes from a guy whose job is just "beach" to a guy who embraces the patriarchy and tries to take over Barbie Land from within. It's a character that could've been pure comic relief, or he could've come across as too unlikeable during his second act heel-turn, but Gosling still makes Ken's pain feel real and sympathetic even as the world around him is clearly made of plastic. It's not a surprise that when Gerwig was asked in a recent WGA Q&A (via Variety) why she picked Gosling, she pointed to his work on "SNL":
"He's hosted like seven times and he's great at it... We watch 'SNL' like every week when it's on. He's funny on 'SNL' in the same way he's moving in a dramatic role: he's always kind of doing it from inside, even when it's the most ridiculous sketch. He commits 100%. As soon as we said his name, we were like, 'Yeah, it's the person.'"
Sure enough, Gosling gave it his all for Ken, just as he gave it his all for that guy who was obsessed with "Avatar" for using the papyrus font in its marketing, or for that poor guy who was tricked into eating Pizza Hut instead of the classy Terrezano's. His best "SNL" roles involve an insecure, childlike man attempting a gruff, tough-guy persona, which fits perfectly for the character arc Ken goes through. Ken tries to adhere to the ideals of masculinity as he understands them, but ultimately he just wants to ride horses and have Barbie's attention. "Barbie" co-writer Noah Baumbach confirmed that he and Gerwig literally had Ken written into the script as "Ken Ryan Gosling" before he was cast, and we have no trouble believing him.