Skip to main content

Ryan Gosling cracks up in virtually every Saturday Night Live skit, and it’s hilarious

Close Encounter - SNL
It was actor Ryan Gosling’s first time filling the hosting gig for Saturday Night Live, so it’s no surprise that he’d break character and crack up at least once. But on this past Saturday’s episode, the leading man stifled a muffled laugh in pretty well every sketch he was in.

The most notable was a skit with cast members Cecily Strong and Kate McKinnon (above), where they were playing trailer park, presumably stoned folks meeting with police to discuss an alleged alien abduction. As McKinnon described her encounter involving 40 aliens lining up to take turn at gently patting her “knockers,” legs wide open sucking on a cigarette, Gosling held his hand in front of his face as he was clearly trying to hide his laughs. As the camera cut to Aidy Bryant and Bobby Moynihan, it was clear they had caught a case of Gosling’s giggles, as well. While McKinnon amazingly managed to keep a straight face for the most part, even she lost her focus in a few instances.

Related: Crowe breaks Gosling’s arm in brutally funny Red Band trailer for the nice guys 

In another sketch, Aidy Bryant’s hilarious acting as a 13.5-year-old clearly infatuated with her friend’s dad (played by Gosling) had him trying hard to hold it in once again. Once Bryant started to attempt to suck his fingers, it was all over. And in yet another, where he played one of three flamboyant elves purposely trying to be naughty so they’d be “punished” by an unsuspecting Santa, he again couldn’t help but giggle as Bryant and Kenan Thompson read their dirty and suggestive lines.

Gosling also muffled a few laughs during his opening monologue, where he was joined by former cast member and fellow Canadian Mike Myers, as they joked about their Canadian heritage. Gosling, as some may know, was actually born in a small town in Ontario called Cornwall. Indeed, another sketch took viewers back to a fictional bar in Cornwall, where a former classmate, played by Kyle Mooney, tries to embarrass Gosling who’s being interviewed by a GQ reporter, played by Strong. Once Mooney takes off his shirt to suggest that Gosling couldn’t quite compete with such a hot bod, Gosling again breaks character and tries to hold in his laughs.

It was arguably one of the best character breaking moments of recent SNL history. Tops is still, of course, that Happiest Place on Earth skit from 2004 when then cast member Jimmy Fallon and episode host Lindsay Lohan essentially laughed their way through the entire first-ever Debbie Downer skit, causing Rachel Dratch, who played the popular recurring character, to lose it as well. Watch that below.

Debbie Downer: Happiest Place on Earth? - Saturday Night Live

But with Gosling laughing his way through virtually the entire episode, he may just have broken an SNL record of sorts.

Editors' Recommendations

Christine Persaud
Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…
Everything leaving Netflix in May 2024
Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce as Bud and Exley looking into a car in L.A. Confidential.

Netflix is always at its best when it has a robust lineup of movies from other studios to go along with its original films. But in May, Netflix is going to lose a lot of great flicks, because several of its movies on loan from rival studios are going back home. This month, that includes L.A. Confidential, the first four Hunger Games movies, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and even Where the Crawdads Sing, which enjoyed a nearly 18-month run on Netflix following its theatrical release.

Fox's short-lived sitcom The Mick is also departing Netflix, which tends to shed movies more often than it does shows. But there is an upside to this month's content migration: May has a full 31 days and a holiday weekend. That should go a long way toward helping plan your movie nights so you can catch these films and shows before they depart.

Read more
Everything leaving Hulu in May 2024
Aaron Eckhart in Thank You For Smoking.

May is one of the longest months of the year, and Hulu subscribers may need all 31 days to catch some of their favorite movies before they leave at the end of the month. The brilliant satire Thank You For Smoking, the intense noir thriller L.A. Confidential, The Wrestler, Taken, Salt, Life of Pi, Scarface, and more are all on their way out of the door. Some of them have gone through this cycle before and come back to Hulu. But there's no guarantee that you'll see them again on this streaming service.

Right now, you have time to catch all of these films at your leisure. If you go through our list of everything leaving Hulu in May 2024, it should be easy start planning your movie nights in advance. Our favorite picks for the month are in bold.

Read more
Everything coming to PBS in May 2024
Suranne Jones and Eve Best in MaryLand.

Although the programming on PBS in May could look slight compared to April, remember that new episodes of Guilt and A Brief History of the Future will also premiere this month. The only drama series debuting in May is Maryland, a new British series that is making its American premiere on PBS. And if that's not enough drama for you, Great Performances will have feature new productions of Hamlet and Purlie Victorious.

Throughout the month, PBS will air multiple news, nature, and investigative reports as specials and standalone episodes. Near the end of May, music lovers can look forward to the National Memorial Day Concert 2024 and a tribute to the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Read more