Ryan Gosling returned to Studio 8H last weekend to host Saturday Night Live for a fourth time on the 2026 TV schedule. Not surprisingly, he did a fantastic job and broke many times (in fact, that was deliberate in one of them). He seems to be a pro at it now, especially since next time he’ll be inducted into the elite Five-Timers Club, but he wasn’t always like that. The Project Hail Mary star opened up about some intimidating words of wisdom he received from former SNL cast member Mike Myers, which he got from original cast member Gilda Radner.
It’s been just over 10 years since Gosling made his SNL debut in December 2015, but he still remembers it like it was yesterday. Just days after hosting for the fourth time, the actor appeared on the BBC’s The One Show, and he was asked how much he loves hosting Saturday Night Live. In response, Gosling recalled some words he received from Myers, which he received from Radner, and it sounds as intimidating as ever:
When I first hosted, Mike Myers told me, ‘I’m going to tell you what Gilda Radner told me on my first show, which is that ‘The show is a monster, it has to eat every Saturday night, and tonight it’s having you for dinner.’
Hosting Saturday Night Live is not for the faint of heart, nor is being a cast member on the show. And even though Gosling was just hosting and not joining the cast, the wisdom seemed to work all the same. Of course, no one would know how much of a monster SNL is better than an original cast member like Radner, and knowing that Myers took her words to heart and has probably passed them on to more than just Gosling is pretty great.
Radner, who tragically passed away far too soon in 1989, was in the first five seasons of SNL, and her legacy has lived on. And not just because Sarah Sherman’s residual checks were being sent to her estate. Bill Murray, who joined the cast in Season 2 and stayed on through Season 5, emotionally remembered her and the late John Belushi during SNL’s 50th anniversary special last year. Emma Stone has also opened up in the past about how much she looks up to Radner, even paying tribute to her during the show’s 40th anniversary special by dressing up as her iconic Weekend Update character, Roseanne Roseannadanna.
Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling seems to have taken Myers and Radner’s wisdom to heart, because he has definitely killed it every time he’s on SNL. Each episode he hosts has turned out to be hilarious, especially since he breaks so easily. There’s also his viral Beavis and Butt-Head sketch, the last time he hosted, that nearly made a comeback last weekend. And I can’t wait to see him host again.
I hope that in the future Gosling passes down Radner’s wisdom to someone else, whether a first-time host or new cast member, if he hasn’t done so already. The wisdom may be intimidating, but it’s also quite the motivation, and it’s a way to keep Radner’s memory alive. Fans can watch all episodes of SNL with a Peacock subscription, including those with Radner, Myers, and Gosling.
