Barbie: Greta Gerwig Knew Ryan Gosling Was Funny Because of SNL

Before Barbie became an instant hit, fans of Ryan Gosling would typically think of him as someone who took on more serious roles. The actor starred in some heavy films such as Blue Valentine and Drive, and he wasn’t exactly a barrel of laughs in his Oscar-nominated performances for Half Nelson and La La Land. However, the actor does have some silly projects on his resume such as Crazy Stupid Love and a couple of great Saturday Night Live episodes. In fact, Barbie director Greta Gerwig recently told the Smartless podcast (via Entertainment Weekly) that she knew Gosling was funny because of his SNL episodes. The actor hosted the show in 2015 and 2017. 

“You know those actors you can… just sort of feel that they know what’s funny, and I always felt that about him,” Gerwig explained. “And then I’m a big fan of all of his SNLs, I always thought he was great on SNL… He did ‘Guy That Just Got a Boat’ on ‘Weekend Update,’ and it’s so good.”

Gerwig also talked about casting SNL alum Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie. “[McKinnon] was always the funniest, most talented person I’d ever met, like good at everything,” Gerwig said. “And I also saw her do drama, like, she could do anything. She was like Meryl Streep, she was unreal.”

During the podcast interview, Gerwig explained how Gosling was always her first choice to play Ken in Barbie. 

“We actually, in writing it, cast Ryan, like we wrote his name into the script and everything… and [Gosling’s name] was everywhere,” Gerwig, who wrote the film with her real-life partner, Noah Baumbach, shared. “And then when we handed them the script, the studio was like ‘Oh, it’s so wonderful that you know Ryan.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Ryan. I’ve never met Ryan, I have no idea.’”

Ryan Gosling Goes Full Ken on Barbie Press Tour:

Before the SAG strike, Gosling seemed to be enjoying himself while promoting Barbie by channeling Ken. In fact, ComicBook.com had the chance to chat with Gosling alongside Margot Robbie, and we asked Gosling how it felt to explore his goofiness in the new film. This led to Robbie praising Gosling’s comedic chops, which he pretended not to enjoy. 

“Yeah, it was,” Gosling revealed about finally getting to be goofy in a movie. “I mean, you know, Greta [Gerwig] and Margot [Robbie] are really brilliant, you know, and this whole piece is so brilliant because it’s so fun, it’s so inclusive, and it’s just a fun ride if you want to go on it. But there’s so much more to it. You know, it’s like one of those magic eye pictures. Like if you cross your eyes a little bit, you see the boat that’s hiding in there or whatever.”

Robbie added, “I don’t think you’re appreciated enough as the comedic actor that you are. Everyone thinks of you, I think, as such a good dramatic actor and then they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, he is funny. He was funny in that movie, that movie,’ and then this is a whole different level of-“

“The Ken in me can’t stand for this to be about Ken anymore. We’re here talking about Barbie.” Gosling interrupted. 

Barbie is now playing in theaters.