Ryan Gosling, the three-time Oscar-nominated actor has accepted an invitation to visit the set of Days of our lives after a heartfelt exchange with the show’s legendary star Deidre Hall that caught Hollywood’s attention this week.
It started when Gosling appeared on Happy Sad Confused podcast while promoting Project Hi Maryspoke warmly about growing up watching the long-running soap and singled out Hall’s portrayal of Marlena Evans as formative viewing.
He was particularly taken with the show’s possession storyline and used the moment to make a broader point about how underrated soap actors are.
“They don’t get the love they deserve,” he said.
“The amount they have to remember the night before, like 10 pages of dialogue. They get a roof and those are impossible scenarios.”
Watching Hall move between playing a regular person and someone “possessed by the devil,” he added, was “an incredible acting class.”
Hall, who has played Marlena since 1976, responded with a video message thanking Gosling and inviting him to come see the set for himself.
“We’re just thrilled to be recognized and to be talked about so well,” she said, sharing that the cast had watched Gosling’s comments together backstage.
Gosling’s response, sent to Eva Mendes and Project Hi Mary‘s Instagram accounts left no room for ambiguity.
“This is a very enthusiastic yes to a very cordial invitation,” he said.
“I want to be there to thank you personally… It wasn’t Marlon Brando. It wasn’t De Niro. It was you.” He also called Hall his “OG acting inspiration,” a line that, given the company it puts her in, is quite a tribute.
Project Hi Mary is currently in theaters with new episodes of Days of Our Lives streaming on Peacock.
