Ryan Gosling was often going to be the perfect Ken, and there was one particular unique moment numerous decades ago that proved it to Greta Gerwig. The Barbie director just lately disclosed she experienced presently made the decision Gosling experienced to participate in Ken ahead of she even achieved out to him, for the reason that she was so encouraged by a surprising efficiency he delivered in 2017. No, it wasn’t just one of his properly-recognized film roles — one of the sketches Gosling was in even though web hosting Saturday Night Live caught with Gerwig, and she right away wrote his identify in her script.

Gerwig shared her deep admiration for Gosling’s comedic chops for the duration of her physical appearance on the July 26 episode of the SmartLess podcast, revealing that it was his two stints as an SNL host that truly convinced her to make him Ken. “You know people actors you can… just sort of feel that they know what is funny, and I normally felt that about him,” Gerwig said. “And then I’m a massive lover of all of his SNLs, I normally thought he was excellent on SNL.”

Much more specially, Gerwig was impressed by his appearance on “Weekend Update” when he hosted the clearly show in 2017. She singled out the sketch in which he played Person Who Just Joined Soho Residence, a fast-chatting sleazy bro who hilariously roasts himself when striving to brag about his social standing. Not only was Gosling’s pink and preppy search in the sketch brimming with Kenergy, the characterization also nailed one thing inherent about how Gerwig was approaching Ken. You can test out the sketch that landed Gosling a person of his biggest pieces ever beneath.

Gerwig went on to reveal that she was so dead-established on Gosling playing the part, she’d created his title in the script with out even speaking to him. “We in fact, in creating it, cast Ryan, like we wrote his title into the script and everything… and [Gosling’s name] was all over the place,” Gerwig said. “And then when we handed them the script, the studio was like ‘Oh, it’s so great that you know Ryan.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I really do not know Ryan. I have never ever fulfilled Ryan, I have no thought.’”

It just goes to clearly show that Gosling’s Kenergy was undeniable, even in advance of he took his trip to Barbie Land.