The 5 Ryan Gosling ‘SNL’ sketches you gotta watch before he hosts again

Ryan Gosling is back on SNL tonight. It’ll be his fourth time hosting the show — no, not the fifth — and his first time since the “Beavis and Butt-Head” sketch from Season 49 went absolutely viral.

As we speculate over which sketches Gosling might bring back when he returns for Season 51, here’s your refresher on the Project Hail Mary star’s most iconic SNL moments.

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The top 5 Ryan Gosling SNL sketches

Papyrus

“Papyrus” is a masterpiece of an SNL sketch. It’s been almost a decade since Gosling brought us this gem, but we’re still talking about it. (The Ringer even did a deep-dive into how SNL, Avatar and Papyrus came together.) Has a host ever committed as hard as Gosling yelling, “I KNOW WHAT YOU DID!”?

Gosling and SNL produced “Papyrus 2” the last time he hosted, but the sketch strangely didn’t air during the episode.

Beavis and Butt-Head

“Beavis and Butt-Head” is quite possibly SNL’s biggest breakout moment in years. Everyone was talking about this sketch. Gosling and Mikey Day even walked the red carpet at awards ceremonies in character. If SNL tries to recapture the spontaneous magic of “Beavis and Butt-Head” tonight, we’re going to find out just how important Heidi Gardner was to it going viral.

Close Encounter

Gosling isn’t the star of “Close Encounter” — that would obviously be Kate McKinnon — but he’s returned for subsequent installments of the recurring sketch on several occasions including the cold open when he last hosted and as part of SNL50.

Santa Baby

I love this sketch. It’s an SNL sketch that I never pass up watching when the YouTube algorithm sends it my way. Gosling and Vanessa Bayer as a couple who become increasingly agitated as they demand to see what they believe is the real Santa Claus is a near perfect SNL setup.

Italian Restaurant

“If this weren’t Terrazano’s, I would beat you to death,” Gosling says through his best attempt to not break. I miss Cecily Strong being on SNL. Will we see Gosling have a big moment with Ashley Padilla, the show’s current female lead, tonight?

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Honorable mention

When you host SNL three times and you’re as good at doing so as Gosling, it’s hard to limit your hosting highlights to just five sketches.

Levi’s Wokes

Was this the beginning of the end of “woke” actually meaning anything?

Jazz Monologue

Thanks to La La Land, Gosling saved jazz. No questions.

Weekend Update: Anthony Crispino and Angelo Skaggs

Gosling isn’t afraid to sacrifice what’s usually a major breathing moment for a host and jump into the Weekend Update mix, pairing up with established characters like Bobby Moynihan’s Anthony Crispino ...