Ryan Gosling is certainly having a moment.
He’s been one of the most well-known and successful actors in recent memory, and obviously has been the talk of the industry after his iconic role in Barbie. He’s now hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend to promote his new film The Fall Guy, and the musical guest for the show will be none other than Chris Stapleton.
I guess it’s too early to predict a raucous duet performance of “I’m Just Ken” with Gosling and Stapleton (especially with Ryan promoting his newer movie), but if SNL wanted to break the internet, they should try to make it happen.
And speaking of breaking the internet, the promo that the long running sketch comedy show just put out in advance of this weekend is getting a lot of attention. Many people are quick to criticize Saturday Night Live, but I think (and hope) that everyone can agree that they knocked it out of the park with this one.
The video features Ryan Gosling wearing a Chris Stapleton t-shirt, holding a headshot of the country music star, and nervously waiting outside of Stapleton’s dressing room to meet him and get an autograph. Gosling is going over what he’s going to say to Chris as he knocks on the door, saying:
“Mr. Stapleton, big fan. Love your music. No, that’s stupid. Yo Chris, one for the ‘Gram? Master Stapleton, tis I, Sir Gosling. That’s cool. Hey Chris…”
Once he nails down his intro, Gosling swings open the door and walks in to meet Chris Stapleton. However, the dressing room is dark, and no one is inside… though a signature item of Stapleton’s wardrobe is resting on one of vanities in the room.
A spotlight shines down on Stapleton’s cowboy hat as “White Horse” starts to play in the background. The movie star drops the headshot and sharpie and makes a slow-motion bee line to the hat. Gosling is hesitant at first to pick up the headwear, but once the song really starts to kick in, Ken Ryan picks up the hat and places it on his head as the chorus plays.
Production value is through the roof, and though Stapleton isn’t actually in the promo, I’m excited to see what he and Gosling could potentially do come Saturday Night:
