A lot of celebrities have admitted to being nervous about the idea of hosting Saturday Night Live. The fact that the show is aired live means there’s no safety net if somebody blows a line or misses a mark. It’s also been a place where many actors have been unable to keep a straight face because things can get so funny that they break character. It’s something Ryan Gosling knows all too well; he's sort of famous for being unable to keep from laughing on the show.
Ryan Gosling has hosted SNL three times previously, and he’s set to do it for a fourth time on March 7 ahead of the release of his new movie, Project Hail Mary. Gosling has famously lost it on set more than once, specifically due to Kate McKinnon, who had Gosling in hysterics during a pair of “Close Encounters” sketches back in 2015 and 2017. Access Hollywood asked Gosling what it is about her that causes him to lose it. He said…
She’s a genius. Once you get into her orbit, you’re sucked into the gravity of her talent, and there’s no fighting it. She’s just too good.
Even if you’re not a regular watcher of Saturday Night Live, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen Kate McKinnon’s character Colleen Rafferty, who, over the course of several years, was the victim of everything from alien abduction to near-death experiences. The character’s first appearance was one of those moments where Ryan Gosling could not hold it together. Check it out.
It’s very possible that Ryan Gosling trying not to laugh is one of the reasons that the Colleen Rafferty character became so popular, as the sketch was one of those that went viral on YouTube the morning after it aired. When Gosling hosted the show again two years later, we saw a return of the duo in a similar alien abduction sketch, and Gosling lost it again. You can tell this time that McKinnon is trying to make that happen.
Access Hollywood asked Ryan Gosling if we might see another Close Encounters sketch when he hosts Saturday Night Live this weekend. Gosling said he didn’t know what the plans were for him. Seeing these two reunite would be a treat, but considering the last time we saw Colleen Rafferty, she was going off to live with aliens, in a sketch during Kate McKinnon’s last season as a full-time cast member.
It would be amazing if they could get McKinnon to make a surprise return alongside Ryan Gosling. If that happens, you can fully expect that she will be working to see if she can make Gosling laugh, and I feel like it’s a safe bet to say it will probably happen.
