Ryan Gosling is a sensation as Ken in the Barbie movie. His hilarious performance is scene-stealing, and his intense commitment to such an over-the-top part is incredible to watch. Gosling has always been able to play into a joke, finally letting his comedic chops shine in the movie. However, the Drive actor was recently reminded of one of his other great comedic moments when working on the Barbie set. Baywatch writers brought up his memorable SNL Avatar sketch while pitching to the Oscar nominee, resulting in a hilarious Gosling story.
Mark Swift and Damian Shannon are screenwriters known for writing Baywatch and for their work within the Friday the 13th franchise. The writers had the opportunity to pitch to Gosling while he was filming Barbie. They brought up how much they loved his 2017 “Papyrus” skit, where he plays a man tormented by the fact that a movie as successful as Avatar would use a default font as their logo. It’s a hysterical sketch, and this prompted a hilarious reaction from Gosling when the art for the new Avatar movie just so happened to release while filming. The screenwriters tweeted about the moment, below:
Fav Ryan Gosling story: We pitch him on set of Barbie. We bring up Avatar font skit as one of best SNL ever. Later in conversation it comes up that new Avatar coming out and one sheet just dropped and without missing a beat he leans forward and maniacally yells DID THEY FIX IT?!July 24, 2023
This just shows Ryan Gosling’s immense commitment to a bit, which he shows in his performance as Ken. He took the outlandish role very seriously, saying that Ken’s story needed to be told, after “hypocrites” pretended to care about the secondary Barbie figure. He continued showing off his Kenergy with iconic outfits on the Barbie press tour, and is even generating Oscar buzz after critics loved him in Barbie. The performance surely opened up doors for him if the Baywatch comedy writers are pitching to the La La Land actor.
The Avatar sketch in question has lived strong in the minds of fans. The creator of the Avatar font thought it was absolutely hilarious, able to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. People have even provided evidence that the font is actually based on Papyrus, determined to prove Gosling’s sketch character right. It became such a widely known bit, that director James Cameron was forced to address it. Gosling’s recent reaction to the font must’ve had the cast and crew in stitches, and resulted in a great story about the actors sense of humor.
As for what Swift and Shannon were pitching to Gosling, they didn’t say. With all the comedy references, maybe we’ll see the Blade Runner 2049 star entering the comedy-sphere more often after Barbie. He’s certainly proven himself. With Baywatch being in their arsenal, and Gosling’s recent Ken performance, all their jobs seem to just be “beach,” so maybe this could be a match made in heaven. I think we’d all love to see the Kenergy continue.
You can catch Ryan Gosling giving his all to Barbie, which is in theaters now. You can also check out Swift and Shannon’s Baywatch movie, which is currently available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription. For more information on other films heading to cinemas and streaming in the near future, make sure to consult our 2023 movie release schedule.
