Ryan Gosling Accepts Invitation from Unlikely 'OG Acting Inspiration'

Ryan Gosling’s next career move could be a major left turn from starring in blockbusters like Project Hail Mary.

On Friday, he accepted an open invitation from soap opera actress Deirdre Hall to visit the set of Days of Our Lives, after Gosling praised her acting chops in a recent interview.

While it’s unclear whether he’ll also make an appearance on the show itself, he gave Hall’s offer to stop by a “very enthusiastic yes” in a new video.

Ryan Gosling’s Initial Praise for Deirdre Hall

Appearing on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gosling praised soap opera actors, saying they “do not get the love they deserve” for all that work that goes into making a daily TV show.

“[They have to] memorize, the night before, like 10 pages of dialogue,” he shared. “They get one take, and it’s impossible scenarios — like Marlena, Deidre Hall, gets possessed.”

That was a reference to a famous Days storyline from the 90s in which Hall’s character, Dr. Marlena Evans, was possessed by the devil. In 2021, Marlena was possessed again, as the storyline continued.

“She was possessed by the Devil,” added Gosling. “I loved it. What’s amazing is I remember thinking like, ‘God, Deidre Hall’s a great actress ’cause she’s having to act possessed right now. This seems like a lot to ask of her.’”

He added that he recently tuned into the show and saw it happening all over again.

“Somehow my life keeps crossing the path with when Deidre Hall is possessed,” he told Horowitz.

Deirdre Hall’s Invitation to Gosling

Gosling’s high praise got back to Hall, who sent a video to Horowitz, inviting the actor to the set of the soap.

Saying they had just listened to Gosling’s comments while in the dressing room, Hall said, “We’re just thrilled to be acknowledged and to be so well spoken of, because we work really hard, as you acknowledged.”

“We think it would be nice if you wanted to come over and see what we do in our neck of the woods,” she added, before, insisting that “nobody will be possessed.” Hall then added, “And if they are, I'll keep an eye on you.”

Ryan Gosling Accepts the Invite

In his own video shared to the official Instagram account for his new movie, Project Hail Mary, Gosling responded to the invitation with open arms.

“Deidre Hall, are you kidding me? Yes. This is a very enthusiastic yes to a very cordial invitation to visit you on set, he exclaimed. “I will be there to thank you in person for being my OG acting inspiration. It wasn’t Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. It wasn’t [Robert] De Niro in Taxi Driver. It was you.”

“I want to thank you for your offer. Anytime, anywhere. You tell me, I’ll be there,” he said, before thanking Horowitz for making the connection.

“I’m not worried about the possession,” Gosling added. “I’ll do a 'Hail Mary’ before I get there. I’ll see you on set.”

Days of Our Lives airs daily on NBC; Project Hail Mary is in theaters now.