Few Hollywood leading men have embraced the high-wire absurdity of live sketch comedy quite like Ryan Gosling.
While two-time Oscar nominee Gosling is celebrated internationally for intense dramatic masterworks like Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Blade Runner 2049 alongside blockbuster musical charisma in Barbie and La La Land, hosting Saturday Night Live unleashes an entirely different animal: an actor of peerless comedic commitment who famously cannot keep a straight face.
Watching Ryan Gosling in Studio 8H is electric because he attacks surreal premises with deadpan dramatic weight—and when he inevitably corpsés, the entire cast and live studio audience crumble into infectious laughter alongside him.
Whether you’re pairing this with our breakdowns of the best Pedro Pascal SNL sketches, the 10 best Adam Driver SNL sketches, Dakota Johnson’s top SNL sketches, John Mulaney’s musical parodies, or Kristen Wiig’s legendary characters, here are the 10 best Ryan Gosling SNL sketches of all time, ranked by laugh count, cultural impact, and unforgettable live breaks—complete with official video streams for every sketch.
The 10 Best Ryan Gosling SNL Sketches at a Glance
★ 1. Beavis and Butt-Head (Season 49, 2024) — Co-starring Mikey Day & Heidi Gardner
★ 2. Papyrus & Papyrus 2 (Season 43 & Season 49) — Written by Julio Torres
★ 3. Close Encounter (Season 41, 2015) — Co-starring Kate McKinnon & Cecily Strong
★ 4. Santa Baby (Season 41, 2015) — Co-starring Vanessa Bayer
★ 5. 2024 Monologue: Ken's Farewell (Season 49, 2024) — Special Guest Emily Blunt
★ 6. Another Close Encounter (Season 43, 2017) — Return of Ms. Rafferty
★ 7. Henrietta & The Fugitive (Season 43, 2017) — Co-starring Aidy Bryant
★ 8. Get That Boy Back (Season 49, 2024) — Featuring Chris Stapleton & Chloe Troast
★ 9. Guy Fieri's Full Throttle Christmas (Season 41, 2015) — Co-starring Bobby Moynihan
★ 10. Terrazzano's (Season 43, 2017) — Co-starring Cecily Strong & Beck Bennett
1. Beavis and Butt-Head (Season 49, 2024)
- Co-stars: Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Kenan Thompson
- The Premise: An MIT panel discussion on artificial intelligence hosted by Kenan Thompson is repeatedly derailed because an audience member (Gosling) bears an uncanny resemblance to MTV cartoon character Beavis.
- Why It Works: Heidi Gardner turning around to address Gosling’s counterpart (Mikey Day as Butt-Head) and instantly breaking into uncontrollable, sobbing laughter on live television.
Already hailed by critics as one of the single greatest live sketches in SNL history, Beavis and Butt-Head was an absolute masterclass in prosthetics, visual sight gags, and comedic timing. Gosling’s polite, completely innocent confusion (“I’m not familiar with this… Beavis”) paired with Mikey Day’s dental prosthetic grin broke the entire internet. It generated tens of millions of views within 48 hours and proved Gosling’s willingness to look completely ridiculous for pure comedy.
▶ Watch "Beavis and Butt-Head" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
2. Papyrus & Papyrus 2 (Season 43, 2017 & Season 49, 2024)
- Writer: Julio Torres
- Co-stars: Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kyle Mooney
- The Premise: A brooding graphic designer is tormented for years by the realization that James Cameron used the default Microsoft font “Papyrus” for the multi-billion-dollar international blockbuster Avatar.
- Why It Works: Treating a minor graphic design grievance with the dark, sweat-drenched psychological dread of a David Fincher thriller.
Written by surrealist comedy icon Julio Torres, Papyrus plays like a prestige thriller. Gosling plays his protagonist with tortured Oscar-caliber intensity—staring through rainy blinds, tossing and turning in bed, and confronting font designers in dark parking lots. The 2024 sequel (Papyrus 2), cut for time and released digitally during his Season 49 hosting gig, saw his obsession reignited by Avatar: The Way of Water’s subtle font modification. It remains a masterpiece of cinematic satire.
▶ Watch "Papyrus" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
3. Close Encounter (Season 41, 2015)
- Co-stars: Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Bobby Moynihan
- The Premise: Three small-town Americans are interrogated by federal agents after being abducted by extraterrestrials. While Gosling and Strong describe ethereal spiritual beauty, Ms. Rafferty (Kate McKinnon) describes an unhinged, crass redneck nightmare.
- Why It Works: The definitive live corpsing moment that cemented Gosling’s beloved reputation on Studio 8H.
This is the sketch that permanently cemented Ryan Gosling’s reputation as SNL’s most charming corpser. As Kate McKinnon demonstrated alien physical examinations by aggressively manhandling Gosling’s posterior in a folding chair, Gosling completely folded, hiding his face in his hands while tears of laughter streamed down his cheeks. McKinnon’s unyielding comedic ferocity and Gosling’s helpless breakdown made this an instant classic that launched an entire recurring franchise.
▶ Watch "Close Encounter" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
4. Santa Baby (Season 41, 2015)
- Co-stars: Vanessa Bayer, Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant
- The Premise: A glamorous couple arrives at an upscale suburban holiday cocktail party, only to reveal an aggressive, psychotic obsession with meeting the “real” Santa Claus.
- Why It Works: Flawless comedic chemistry between Gosling and Vanessa Bayer playing terrifying holiday zealots.
Gosling and Vanessa Bayer share electric comedic chemistry as Doug and Gina, a hyper-intense couple who hold their host hostage until Santa arrives down the chimney. Gosling’s unhinged monologue (“I know what you’re thinking… Santa isn’t real. Well, tell that to the half-eaten gingerbread man on my mantle!”) swings wildly between holiday romance and terrifying thriller villainy.
▶ Watch "Santa Baby" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
5. 2024 Monologue: Ken’s Farewell (Season 49, 2024)
- Co-stars: Emily Blunt
- The Premise: Ryan Gosling vows not to talk about Ken from the Barbie movie, only to immediately break into a dramatic, piano-driven power ballad parody of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well.”
- Why It Works: Emily Blunt interrupting with folding chairs, stunt fighting, and Gosling in a white fur coat.
Capitalizing on the global phenomenon of Barbie, Gosling opened his April 2024 show with an unforgettable musical monologue. Lamenting his emotional struggle to let Ken go, Gosling donned his signature sunglasses and white mink coat to sing Taylor Swift lyrics rewritten for his plastic counterpart. When Oppenheimer star Emily Blunt joined him for a duet, the Barbenheimer cultural crossover reached its hilarious zenith.
▶ Watch "Ryan Gosling Monologue" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
6. Another Close Encounter (Season 43, 2017)
- Co-stars: Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong
- The Premise: The second chapter of the Pentagon alien abduction debriefing.
- Why It Works: Proving the electric chemistry between McKinnon and Gosling was completely repeatable.
Sequels to lightning-in-a-bottle sketches rarely live up to the original, but Gosling’s second encounter with Kate McKinnon’s Ms. Rafferty proved the chemistry was evergreen. This time, McKinnon used Gosling’s own jacket lapels and physical stature as visual props to describe alien tractor beams, breaking Gosling within thirty seconds of the sketch opening.
▶ Watch "Another Close Encounter" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
7. Henrietta & The Fugitive (Season 43, 2017)
- Co-stars: Aidy Bryant, Beck Bennett
- The Premise: A 1940s film noir where a rugged criminal on the run hides out in a barn, falling desperately in love with Henrietta—who is an ordinary farm chicken.
- Why It Works: Humphrey Bogart melodrama delivered with utter sincerity to a clucking chicken puppet.
Gosling plays this bizarre premise with 100% straight-faced noir romance, treating a hand-operated chicken puppet with the smoldering passion of a classic Hollywood heartthrob. The contrast between his brooding movie-star eyes and the puppet’s frantic clucking is pure, unfiltered sketch comedy brilliance.
▶ Watch "Henrietta & The Fugitive" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
8. Get That Boy Back (Season 49, 2024)
- Co-stars: Chloe Troast, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Chris Stapleton
- The Premise: A high-production country-pop music video short where three women plot petty revenge on their ex-boyfriends, while one friend takes retribution to a terrifying international scale.
- Why It Works: High-concept musical parody with country superstar Chris Stapleton and Gosling caught in the crosshairs.
Featuring powerhouse vocals from Chloe Troast and country music icon Chris Stapleton, this pre-taped short escalated ordinary breakup revenge into CIA-level sabotage. Gosling’s bewildered reactions as his life is systematically dismantled under upbeat country hooks make the video endlessly replayable.
▶ Watch "Get That Boy Back" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
9. Guy Fieri’s Full Throttle Christmas (Season 41, 2015)
- Co-stars: Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam
- The Premise: Food Network superstar Guy Fieri hosts a holiday cooking special featuring bizarre fried concoctions and high-octane rock music.
- Why It Works: Gosling shedding all Hollywood glamour to deliver loud, greasy holiday slapstick.
Gosling appears as a chaotic culinary sidekick dipping entire holiday hams into deep-fryers and screaming about “Flavortown.” It’s loud, fast, messy, and shows Gosling trading his dramatic subtlety for unadulterated physical holiday comedy.
▶ Watch "Guy Fieri's Full Throttle Christmas" on the Official SNL YouTube Channel
10. Terrazzano’s (Season 43, 2017)
- Co-stars: Cecily Strong, Beck Bennett, Kenan Thompson
- The Premise: A commercial for a hidden-camera reveal where diners at an expensive Italian restaurant discover they’ve actually been eating cheap frozen supermarket pasta.
- Why It Works: A proud patron turning a minor consumer prank into an operatic blood feud.
While other diners take the supermarket reveal in stride, Gosling’s proud Italian-American patron takes the deception as a mortal insult against his ancestry and honor. Smashing breadsticks, demanding apologies, and threatening waiters with operatic passion, Gosling turns a pedestrian marketing parody into a full-scale domestic melodrama.
Ryan Gosling SNL Sketch Comparison Table
| Sketch Title | Season / Year | Main Co-Stars | Satirical Target | Video Player & Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beavis and Butt-Head | Season 49 (2024) | Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner | AI Tech Panels & 90s Cartoons | Watch on YouTube |
| Papyrus | Season 43 (2017) | Chris Redd, Kyle Mooney | Hollywood Blockbusters & Fonts | Watch on YouTube |
| Close Encounter | Season 41 (2015) | Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong | Alien Abductions & Redneck Tropes | Watch on YouTube |
| Santa Baby | Season 41 (2015) | Vanessa Bayer, Beck Bennett | Suburban Parties & Santa Belief | Watch on YouTube |
| 2024 Monologue | Season 49 (2024) | Emily Blunt | Ken Hangover & Taylor Swift | Watch on YouTube |
| Another Close Encounter | Season 43 (2017) | Kate McKinnon | Pentagon Briefings & Corpsing | Watch on YouTube |
| Henrietta & The Fugitive | Season 43 (2017) | Aidy Bryant | 1940s Film Noir & Absurd Romance | Watch on YouTube |
| Get That Boy Back | Season 49 (2024) | Chris Stapleton, Chloe Troast | Country Music Videos & Breakups | Watch on YouTube |
| Guy Fieri Christmas | Season 41 (2015) | Bobby Moynihan | Food Network & Fried Foods | Watch on YouTube |
Frequently Asked Questions About Ryan Gosling on SNL
How many times has Ryan Gosling hosted Saturday Night Live?
Ryan Gosling has hosted Saturday Night Live three times: first in December 2015 (Season 41), then in September 2017 for the Season 43 premiere, and most recently in April 2024 (Season 49) alongside musical guest Chris Stapleton.
Why did Heidi Gardner break during the Beavis and Butt-Head sketch?
Cast member Heidi Gardner famously broke into uncontrollable laughter live on air during the “Beavis and Butt-Head” sketch because she had not seen Mikey Day in his full Butt-Head prosthetic makeup, wig, and dental mouth insert until she turned around during the live broadcast. Her genuine shock triggered one of the most beloved live television breaks in modern SNL history.
Who wrote the viral “Papyrus” sketch?
The iconic “Papyrus” sketch was written by surrealist comedian Julio Torres, who wrote for Saturday Night Live from 2016 to 2019. Torres also penned the 2024 follow-up “Papyrus 2,” as well as other modern classics like Emma Stone’s “Wells for Boys” and “The Actress.”
Where can I stream full episodes of Ryan Gosling hosting SNL?
All seasons and episodes of Saturday Night Live, including Ryan Gosling’s complete hosting episodes from Seasons 41, 43, and 49, are available to stream on Peacock and can be viewed in clips on the official Saturday Night Live YouTube channel.
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