Welcome back.
No, please, after you.
Oh, after you.
No, after you, of course, yes.
It is so great to see you, bud.
It is nice to... Everybody should have that experience once in their life.
Walk into a room with the Roots playing.
Exactly, yeah.
There's nothing like that.
How does it feel to be in front of an audience and a crowd?
I mean, they love you.
Come on, bud.
Last time we were with each other together, it was almost 11 years ago.
That feels like 20.
It feels like yesterday.
But, I mean, a lot has changed.
We're dads now.
That's right.
Congratulations.
Congratulations to you.
Yeah.
How does it feel?
Greatest.
Yeah.
How old are they?
Are they around the same as Mike?
Six and seven.
You're as old as... Eight and... Yeah, seven and eight, yeah.
Okay.
My girls are a little bit starting to not laugh at every joke that I tell.
Oh, okay.
They used to be my number one fan.
I'd do anything, and they'd be like...
Fantastic.
Now they just sometimes don't react.
I get the eye roll or something.
Did you just roll your eyes at me?
I mean, it's cute, but don't do that.
Yeah, yeah.
My youngest has a real power move where she'll, like... Here's an example.
We got to work in France and so we went to the Louvre and we saw, you know, Winged Victory.
We saw Venus de Milo and we're standing in front of the Mona Lisa and she turns around and she goes.
And I said why?
And she went, because it is not good.
And then the real power move is sometimes she'll turn around and she'll just go Thumbs down, walk away.
Oh, that's a fantastic move.
It's like Roman emperor level.
Just walking away with a thumbs-down is a power move.
I want to ask you about this photo I saw.
I just want to ask you questions about it.
I saw it.
Okay.
It broke.
It officially broke the Internet.
Well, you know, the Internet's been trying to break me for years.
So it gave me no other choice.
You were Ken in the new Barbie movie.
And this is fantastic.
Were you surprised by the great reaction this photo got?
I was surprised how, you know, some people were kind of clutching their pearls about Mike Ken, as though they ever thought about Ken for a second before this.
Yeah, you feel like he's an underappreciated character, Ken.
They never played with Ken.
Nobody plays with Ken, man.
They don't really play with Ken.
Did you play with Ken?
Uh... Exactly.
Exactly.
He was available.
And yet?
He stayed in the toy box.
He's an accessory.
And not even one of the cool ones.
He's an accessory of Barbie's.
Yeah, she's got the camper.
The house.
The house is unbelievable.
The car.
She's done with the house.
Have you ever put together one of those houses, by the way?
I tried.
I want to sue Mattel.
I had so mad.
I was like, oh, my gosh.
This is the craziest thing to put together ever.
The dream house.
And that's it.
We have the house, and now we live in it.
It took so long.
You know what?
There was a thing on Vanity Fair.
They said they think they know why you chose the role of Ken.
Because you have a love of jean jackets.
And that's you throughout the years, loving the jean jacket.
I do like a good jean jacket if I can rock it.
But that's not the reason why you chose Ken.
Did you bring me on your show to denim shame me?
You know what this is?
There's no denim shame in my game, man.
No way, man.
I love denim.
I love denim.
No, I want to set up this story because it made me laugh.
You're like, no, the reason why I took this role.
You got a call from Greta Gerwig or an email.
Right.
From Greta, who's a great actor, director, writer.
And she offered you the role of Ken.
Yes.
And you went out in your backyard.
You just wanted to think about it for a second.
You go in the backyard.
Best script I've ever read.
I walk out in the backyard.
And do you know where I found Ken, Jimmy? face down in the mud next to a squished lemon.
You took a photo of it.
And this is a sign.
This is a sign that you got to do this movie.
The utter disrespect.
I texted it to Greta, and I said, I shall be your Ken.
His story must be told.
Yeah, his story must be told.
I want to hear this guy.
What happened to the situation here?
I know you're doing press for the Gray Man, but people were asking about the Barbie movie and then they go.
You know what is it about.
And you go, well, Ken has no house, you know, no home and no job.
And like, is this a drama?
Is this a sad?
Those are not plot details.
Those are just objective facts about Ken.
It has nothing to do with the movie.
The movie's not about Ken having no house or job.
No.
Those are just, that's the Ken life.
Yeah, that's just the Ken life.
Yeah.
Yeah, I just want to straighten that out for anyone that's going like.
That's not what a Barbie movie's about.
It's going to be, what a cast, by the way.
I cannot wait.
Everyone you can think of is going to be funny and awesome.
I want to talk about the gray man.
Okay.
Dude, talk about action on top of action on top of action.
And then more action.
And then more action.
And then some sneaky action.
Yeah, and they snuck a little action in there.
They snuck a little action in there.
Yeah.
Do you know, in most action films, there's, like, four to five action moments, big action moments?
Yeah.
This has nine, Jimmy.
Yeah.
That's four and five.
Wow.
That's five added action sequences.
We pack the action.
Yes, you do.
It's action-packed.
It's action-packed.
And you got my man Chris Evans, as well, in this.
And look at that.
Also...
I must say, you're rocking some pretty awesome facial hair.
You got the goatee.
He's got the mustache.
Yeah.
Our facial hair had different acting styles.
His mustache went to the Stella Adler school.
My goatee was Meisner.
And it's electric on set, but it's off-camera.
It's trouble.
What is the gray man about?
What should they expect besides action and fun?
It starts with action.
Then you find out this character.
They pull him out of prison to be a spy.
But he doesn't want to be a spy, Jimmy.
Of course not.
He'd rather be at home watching Netflix like the rest of us.
Yeah, exactly.
But he can't.
He has to.
They're forcing him to do it.
The only way he gets out is to go back in.
More action.
Yes, that's exactly right.
Amazing cast, amazing characters, and then we close it out with so much action.
There you go.
I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Ryan Gosling in the gray.
Man, take a look at this.
Give me the gun.
You're in my shot.
You gave me an empty gun?
The shells were coming, OK?
Huh?
The shells were coming.
You ran away too fast.
Then you need to say, hey, wait, that's empty.
No, it's assumed.
I assumed it's loaded, so I run after the guy.
Who throws a loaded gun?
I asked for a loaded gun.
No one throws a loaded weapon, OK?
Are you coming?
I'm going to bleed out while we have this conversation.
Can we just unpack this somewhere else?
Yeah.
Let's just unpack this somewhere else.
That's what I'm talking about right there.
Ryan Gosling, the Gray Man, everybody.
Thank you for being here.
We've broken you up.
Can we talk about this?
Wait, hold on.
There you go.
Is it grossing you out?
What's going on with the nail, man?
My nail was, yeah.
I hit my nail.
What's happened?
I have a black nail.
Yeah.
You know what happened?
It was a screen door.
I slammed my pinky in the screen door.
I was holding the screen.
It was one of those screen doors that go like... And I go, oh, that's nice.
And then all of a sudden went... And so it got me.
It was bumming you out?
It looks fungus-y.
It's black.
It's not fungus-y.
It's just black.
You know, I have...
Sorry.
We don't need... Having two little girls, I have... Just saying, if you want.
I mean, it is... Do the honors?
It is.
I mean, Jimmy, you're in the public eye right now.
This is... There you go.
You did a great job.
Look at that.
Look at this.
It's like nothing ever happened.
He did a great job.
Ryan Gosling, everybody.
I have to talk to you about I'm Just Ken at the Oscars.
Buddy, you were unbelievable.
It was the best.
That was awesome.
It was giant.
It's just what we all wanted.
I mean, the level of pressure on there.
When the Oscars ask you to perform, they call you and they go, would you want to do I'm Just Ken?
You immediately go... yeah, I have to do this, or no.
100% no.
You were like, please don't make me do this.
Yes.
I already did it in the movie.
There's a lot of ways that can go wrong.
Yeah.
It's live.
But, man, you came out, and you...
You had Dancer.
You had the Busby Berkeley moves.
You had Mark Ronson.
You had Slash.
Everything was unbelievable.
And you pulled it off.
I mean, it was one of the best performances.
I'm just going to read a couple reviews here, just real quick.
GQ said... Harper's Bazaar.
Ryan Gosling brought the house down with his Oscar performance.
Uproxx said... I didn't even know that one.
And then the song...
Charming little goofball.
What's going on?
I'm just Ken Jump.
More than 2,000% in purchase immediately after the performance.
Congratulations.
That was... That was well done.
Imagine the reviews I would have had if I'd had the roots.
Oh, I know.
You wish.
Next time.
Next time, put it in a call.
But here you are with Slash being super cool.
You were telling me backstage that your daughters came to rehearsal.
When they come see you do, I'm just kidding, do they go, oh, yeah, Daddy's fun.
He's awesome.
Dad's Kenan again.
He's Kenan again.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Were they fans of the movie?
I mean, they were probably with you during shooting as well, I guess.
They were.
I mean look, it was their you know interest in Barbie and their disinterest in Ken.
That sort of started all of this.
Yeah.
And, you know, they've just been, obviously, my... It's really been a team effort.
And they were on the film, and they came to set when I filmed the number.
But it's also been like a lot of this has no context for them.
You know, it's just like a lot of fake tan stains around the house.
If you take a nap on your couch, you're like, oops.
Yeah.
So I wanted them to come to the dress rehearsal just to give it some kind of context for what had been going on.
Yeah.
Because they're, like, still young.
They're, like, nine or seven?
Seven and nine.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So have they seen big concerts and shows yet?
No.
That was it.
You were there first.
That's fantastic to see that.
They know all the choreography better than I do.
They do.
And the songs.
Oh, my God.
They're backstage, kind of like showing me.
You know They're like dance moms, but they're the kids.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, cool.
Big smile.
Big smile, Dad.
Big smile.
Yeah.
You're hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, this Saturday, for the third time.
You're a great host.
You're a great guest star, as well.
I haven't slept in three days.
You haven't.
I know, right?
You got to stay up.
Help me.
It is live.
You got to be up.
You got to be awake.
But I read somewhere that Greta Gerwig saw you on Saturday Night Live and said oh, he's perfect for Ken, like from a sketch that you did or something on an update you did.
Yeah, this Alex Moffitt wrote this sketch called, like, Guy Who Just Joined Soho House or something.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I remember that.
Yeah, so you're this guy that just joined Soho House.
Yeah, like, the first line was, like, Sergeant Blackout reporting for booty.
Come on.
That's a great line.
Good job, Alex.
Alex Moffitt.
That's a good line.
Who would have thought that Greta Gerwig was watching that going like, That's my Ken.
Yeah, and it was just perfect.
Now that you're back in the show a third time, are you a little less nervous?
Thank you, Alex.
You got me a job.
Thank you.
Are you less nervous now doing it for the third time?
I'm more nervous.
You are?
Yeah.
You are?
Well, because now I know.
Before, I didn't know.
Now I know.
Now you know what goes into it.
You know?
Oh, yeah.
Now you know.
You're very John Lennon.
Now you know what you don't know.
It's so deep, yeah.
But yeah, I guess you know what goes into it and all this stuff, but it's your beloved up there and they got great writers, a good cast.
But I think I laugh too much, and I try not to.
No.
People compare.
They're always like, you and Jimmy.
Always laugh.
-"Oh, no.
Oh, no, I can't help it.
I'm bad."
-"How do you do?
How do you not?
I guess you're not the right person to ask."
-"I'm laughing right now.
I can't stop laughing."
-"But how do you do it?"
-"I don't, you know, I'm the worst person.
I feel so bad when I break in a sketch because I think it's funny.
I go, this is really funny.
And they're like, yeah, but you can't laugh.
You're in the sketch.
You can't laugh.
I go, I know, I know.
I'm sorry.
But I don't do it.
You don't do it on purpose.
That's the thing.
-"No, but they take it very seriously, this comedy thing."
I know.
But also they know when someone's a good sport and a good laugher and they'll kind of go over the edge to make you laugh and break you.
That's the problem between me and you, because we're easy laughers.
So people like Will Ferrell attack us.
They know that we're going to laugh and they just do something that will just make us laugh and break.
We don't want to.
You're not going in there going for it.
Kate McKinnon, she's... Oh, my gosh.
She's vicious.
That alien sketch?
Yeah, it's... Come on.
No, it's the funniest thing I've ever seen.
I dare anyone to not laugh.
No, I think you just go and do what you're doing.
Whatever you're doing is working out pretty well for you.
I think you're doing really good.
So, yeah, break a leg.
This is going to be good this time.
I got to tell you about...
Your new movie, The Fall Guy.
The Fall Guy.
This is unbelievable.
It's getting great reviews, by the way.
Congrats on that.
It's got heart.
It's got laughs and action, action, action.
Can you set it up for everyone?
Well, I think first and foremost, it's a love letter to the stunt community.
I started on a kid's TV show, Young Hercules, and I've had a kind of stunt double my whole life.
And there's always been this weird thing where they come to set, they do all the hard stuff, they take the hits for you, They risk more than anyone, and then they disappear into the shadows.
And everyone pretends that they were never there.
And it was all, you did it all.
And it's just a very... You get all the credit.
You get all the credit.
And they take all the hits, and it's a very strange dynamic.
It's interesting.
Yeah, it is.
So that stops here.
Yeah, that's right.
Enough of that.
That's right.
Stunts.
Enough of that.
We need you.
So, this is a film about a stuntman.
He's trying to help his ex-girlfriend, played by the incredible Emily Blunt.
Oh, my gosh.
Have you ever worked with Emily Blunt?
I've never worked with her before.
Oh, my gosh.
She's cool, man.
She's unflappable.
She really is.
She can't be flapped.
I think that's what that means.
I think that's what that means.
Yeah, she can't be flapped.
She can do anything.
There's nothing she can't do.
She's incredible.
And she's so, like, she's almost so chill, it's a problem.
Like, for instance...
On set, we had this kind of monsoon in Australia or it was something like that.
I might be over-exaggerating.
But it was a lot, it was a lot, so much rain that they evacuated the set.
Oh my God.
And some of the trailers were starting to float away.
And we, I was like knee high and I saw Emily's car was still out front of her trailer.
Yeah.
So I ran up to the trailer and I opened the door.
I was like, Emily, you gotta go.
And she was meditating.
She had like headspace on and a little candle and she was like Ryan, I'll be fine and lifted the trailer up with her senses.
And I was like, you're too chill.
You're too chill!
You're too zen, if that's a thing.
Oh, yeah.
You couldn't, yeah.
She's unflappable, yeah.
But you guys work great.
She can't be flappable.
No.
This movie, though you guys are, it's great chemistry and I will say, obviously you're hoping for it, but the stunts are incredible.
Thank you.
Records are broken.
Actually, there's a record broken.
Cannon rolls.
Yes, the record for most cannon rolls in a film ever.
Eight and a half rolls is done by Logan Holiday in this film.
Can you explain to me what a cannon roll is?
Not very well.
Okay.
Is it, like, flapping around?
It's better.
I do have a clip.
May I show you?
Yeah.
Yes.
All right, show you this record-breaking cannon roll.
It's a behind-the-scenes clip of the stunt.
Here's Ryan's stunt double, Logan Holiday, breaking the world record for most cannon rolls.
Take a look at this. but I had a pretty good feeling that we did it.
Logan Holiday is being recognized by the Guinness World Record for most cannon rolls in a car.
Eight-and-a-half roles and they planned on doing eight-and-a-half or there's hope for the best.
The record was seven.
It was held in Casino Royale, and so he was shooting for eight-and-a-half roles.
Oh, my gosh.
Here's what I thought was actually interesting is like in the movie you get out of that role and he hugs you.
Yeah, no, he straps me into the car for a stunt he's about to do.
And then he breaks the record, and then he pulls me out of the car and pats me on the back for a stunt he just did.
It's so meta.
And in any other film, you would never know that, but in this, you do.
So that's why I love this film so much.
It's very meta.
It's very funny.
It's very well done.
Everyone's gonna love it.
You actually did some of your own stunts, and we're about to show one here.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Do you want to set this clip up?
Do you know which one this is?
Well, I have a fear of heights.
Do you?
I do kind of, yeah.
What happens?
Like, right now, I think I'm too high off the ground.
Normally, I would sit here.
How does it feel when it's happening to you?
I can't even really do those virtual goggles.
I go, whoa.
You get queasy, and I go, I can't do it.
I don't like it.
I don't like it, and so if I choose, if I have my choice, I don't do it.
My body feels like it's turning to stone.
And so they set this up at the beginning of the film, where I have a long, almost like I think it's like a 10 minute oner.
And I go, I'm talking to people on set and then I go up in an elevator and we go up 12 stories and then they drop me 12 stories at the end of the take.
And I was so scared that you'll see in the clip I put on sunglasses for no reason other than to hide the fear in my eyes.
See if you can see the fear of Ryan Gosling, everyone.
Here is the fall guy.
Take a look.
Imagine that.
After this, you and I could both be on the beach somewhere in swimming costumes, drinking spicy margaritas, making bad decisions.
Imagine that.
How are we doing up there, Steph?
This is great.
This is great.
Here we go.
Position down.
Is that one?
You ready to drop the line for me?
In three, two, one, action!
Action, action, action, action!
Oh, my God!
Bud!
Buddy!
Come on!
Respect!
Respect!
That's what I'm talking about!
I'm always happy to see it.
Thank you so much.
We've got to be on our best behavior.
No, you will, yes, because, yeah.
And then well, in honor of your new movie Project Hail Mary, where you play a middle school teacher who is tasked with saving the world.
We have an audience full of schoolteachers who are saving the world.
I know!
One at a time, they're saving the world.
I will say thank you very much.
I will say I want to take credit for this, but this was your idea so I don't want to.
But you made it happen and you made it happen.
No, no, but thank you for doing that.
While we have teachers here, do you remember any teachers that you loved or changed your life or made you who you are?
Yes.
Maybe I won't say her name because I don't know if she wants to be dragged into all of this.
The show business, yeah.
But I do have a teacher who yeah, really flipped things around for me, took an interest, figured out who we were, or tried or who we wanted to be.
Came up with an amazing idea that if we read, whoever read the most books could take a ride in her Jeep.
Why not?
At the end of the year.
Wow, was it a cool Jeep?
Yeah, it was a red Jeep, which, you know, of all the Jeeps, the red one.
That's the one to get.
Yeah, that's the one.
The red one.
That's the one?
And then the second place was you won a New Kids on the Block CD.
And I won the New Kids on the Block CD.
There you go.
That's it.
Come on.
That's not too shabby.
It's some good stuff.
I really wanted it.
Yeah, of course.
I really wanted it.
I've never read that many books in my life since.
Wow.
Shout out to your teacher there.
But then I loved this movie.
Well, I don't know why I had seen Dead Poets Society at that age.
Don't ask me why.
Fantastic movie.
But when she left at the end of the year, she was leaving us for good.
I stood on my desk.
And I was crying, and I said, oh, captain, my captain.
No way.
And no one got the reference.
No.
Of course.
I don't even think she got the reference.
No.
Would you like to do it tonight to these teachers?
Did I do this?
Oh.
Oh, captain, my captain!
How'd we get down?
I don't know.
There you go.
No problem, buddy.
I don't know if that's the way we get down, but that's how we did, yeah.
You're hosting Saturday Night Live for the fourth time, buddy.
Come on.
You're good.
Did you remember the first time you hosted?
Did anyone give you any advice or anything that you go?
Oh, that helped me.
Mike Myers.
Ooh, I love this.
A huge hero of mine.
Lauren made it happen.
It was incredible.
And I was very nervous.
And right before I went on he came into the dressing room and he poked his head in and he said I'm going to tell you what Gilda Radner told me on my first day.
He said, the show is a monster and it needs to eat every Saturday night.
And tonight, it's having you for dinner.
That is so funny.
And doesn't that kind of... Kind of true, yeah.
That's what it feels like.
It kind of feels like that.
It's like, yeah, you're getting eaten this Saturday.
I get in trouble a lot for laughing on the show.
And I get... Yeah.
People always bring you into it.
So they always go, you know, you laugh too much, you know?
You and Fallon.
What?!
How do I get dragged into this?
Dude, it's so funny, though.
How do you not?
I got in so much trouble.
I got yelled at.
They take it very seriously.
They did not like that, yeah.
But you did... You did Beavis and Butthead.
And I got to say, this was unbelievable.
Mikey Day.
My boys.
Heidi Gardner.
Oh, my.
Beautiful boys.
Oh, you're beautiful, too.
They look gorgeous.
When they pitched you this, was that an immediate yes, or what was this?
No, we had, you know, I'd heard all the sketches, and then I was like, well, come on, guys.
Like, what?
Like, what?
You know, what else?
You know, and they were like, well, there is this one sketch.
It's kind of our white whale.
And they were talking about this thing and they were like it's Beavis and Butthead at a really serious thing.
And I was like, and then what happens?
And they're like, that's it.
I'm in.
And I was like, I will be your Beavis.
To your Butthead, sir.
Sir, it was the hair and makeup.
I got to give out the wardrobe.
Hair and makeup was fantastic.
But they do that in 30 seconds.
Oh, yeah.
Because, you know... That crew over there on SNL are unbelievable.
They're the best.
Really.
And did you... It's the best crew you could ever work with.
I mean, besides the Tonight Show.
Yes, I agree.
They are the best.
You guys have a lot of good friends.
Same people.
Same people.
We are very lucky.
We are very lucky.
But when you're rehearsing this, you're not in hair and makeup, right?
So you're just rehearsing it as you and Mikey Day.
Yes.
And it's not that funny.
When it all happens live, you're like, this is out of control weird.
Yes.
It's just out of control.
This is too funny.
But when you look down the barrel of Mikey Day, His mouth?
Look at his mouth.
Just hold on.
Hold on.
I can't look at it.
I can't look at it.
Can you get in closer?
Look at his mouth.
I can't look at his mouth.
It's impossible.
It's unbelievable.
Good luck.
So, I saw Project Hail Mary last night.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Let me tell you, buddy, it is one of the best movies I've ever seen.
I absolutely love this movie.
I thought it was... Can we put that on the poster?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I don't think you're gonna need me to get on the poster.
You actually have some great reviews.
If you want to plug your ears, I'll read about it.
Screen Rant says, the film is perfect.
Variety calls it a masterpiece and an epic cinematic achievement.
One film critic said it's a perfect cinematic experience, maybe even one of the best movies of the decade.
That wasn't me, either.
Gold Derby says it felt, in many ways, like a miracle of a movie.
It was so fun, and it's a lot.
It's about a teacher.
Yes, of course it is.
It's... It's... You have a great... You have a great cast in the movie.
It's just... It's you and an alien.
Yes.
Yeah.
But your other... Sandra Huler.
She's fantastic.
By the way, she can sing.
She can sing.
That's a good... That's a great scene in the movie.
It's the best scene in the movie, I think.
You think that, too.
You were saying it earlier.
Well, I do love that scene, but, I mean, I think you're the best.
No no, she sings in the film and it's like yeah, it's one of the best scenes in the film and it was so fun because our dressing rooms were down the hall from one another and I heard you know Jimmy, I heard the voice of an angel.
Yeah.
And I was like, what is that?
And I went down the hallway, and I said, you can sing?
She was like, yeah.
And I said, well, will you please sing in the movie?
Please sing in the movie.
And she was like...
I'll think about it.
And there was two days later a karaoke scene that was really just supposed to be like a sort of background of another scene.
And she came in and she said, I'll sing this song.
And it was Sign of the Times by Harry Styles.
Yeah.
And we were like, yeah.
Of course.
One and only.
And we were like, can you get us a song that's easier to clear?
Yeah, you can't afford that.
I mean, it's just a lot.
Yeah, you can't.
And she was like, it's this or nothing.
Wow.
And it became the anthem of the film and it has become like the sort of like heartbeat of the movie.
So it's just, she's incredible to work with, but that's just one example of how much you contribute.
Because Harry is as cool as you think he is.
Yeah, he is, right?
He's a good guy.
Yeah, he made it happen.
Who directed this movie?
So, Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Wow.
Knockout.
Knockout.
Knocked it out of the park.
I was like, I was watching it.
Who directed this?
I went in kind of blind.
I didn't know the book.
Everyone was like, it's the best book.
People were like, it's the best Audible book as well.
So I just went a double whammy.
But I'm like, and you just fall in love with you in space and you fall in love with your alien friend Rocky, and he's so cute, and you guys bond even though you don't have the same language, and it's just the whole thing, and you go, it's not ET.
It's a different alien.
I don't know how to describe it, but it's beautiful and it's fun and you're kind of goofy as well and you just love your character and you're clumsy and you knock into things and you're just rooting for you the whole time.
He's not good at space.
That's a good line.
That's a good line.
He's not good at space.
He puts the knot in astronaut.
Yeah.
How do we set up what Project Hail Mary is about?
Project Hail Mary is about a middle school science teacher who wakes up in another galaxy, on a spaceship, and realizes that the fate of humanity lies in his hands.
And he makes an alien best friend, and they save the stars together.
We're already crying.
Yes!
It's so fun.
It's so, I was going to say, magical, and then I was going to say mystical.
I feel like Benson Boone.
It's mystical.
It's magical.
It's mystical.
Yeah, yeah, baby, yeah, don't you know?
But it really is fun, and I just, I haven't seen a movie like that in a long time.
Congratulations.
I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Ryan Gosling.
This is when they first meet.
This is when they first meet.
Project Hail Mary.
Is that me?
My ship.
I don't understand.
You want me to go back in my ship?
But I just got here.
Okay.
Okay.
I'll talk to you later.
When you're doing that scene right there and you're doing that and there's a scene where he's imitating you or it's imitating you and you're kind of dancing and he's dancing along.
And I was like, it just works.
And the whole crowd that I was with was just dying laughing.
It's really fun.
Were you acting with a real Yeah.
So we made the choice to not do it CGI, and to work with a practical.
You know they call him a puppet.
I don't think we should call him a puppet anymore, but...
You know, it was just so that I would have you know someone, something there would be real, you know.
And he was also the voice.
So what happened was?
This was amazing because well, first of all Rocky, I'll just say he was a bit of a diva.
He was quite high maintenance.
Oh, yeah.
Because he came with five puppeteers.
They called themselves the Rocketeers.
And they were dressed like ninjas.
Of course.
And they would come in and like hide, you know, and be doing the puppeteering, but it's like you're just a ninja on the floor.
I can see you.
Yeah, of course.
In fact, maybe the ninja thing kind of made it a little more, but anyway, they were incredible.
And we were able to sort of interact in a real way because they were there.
But James Ortiz was this puppeteer who was just supposed to do the puppeting.
And he saw that I was struggling because I had no one to talk to.
So he started reading the lines for me off camera.
And, you know, slowly but surely, he, you know, he was, he knew what Rocky would and wouldn't do.
He would say, well, Rocky will do this.
And he was like, Rocky would never do that.
Okay?
He'd go, this is a gift.
Rocky would never say that.
No.
He wouldn't do that.
You guys are dreaming.
He didn't bring that up.
You think Rocky would do that?
Yeah, not in his contract.
We were like, whoa.
Let's see if that Rocky says that here.
Taking a lot of ownership over this character.
Yeah.
We're like, because you are this character.
Because you are.
And he became the voice.
James Ortiz became Rocky and, you know.
It works.
It works.
It's a magical performance.
I can't wait for people to see it.
It's so fun.
More with Ryan Gosling when we come back, everybody.
Stick around.
Welcome back!
We're here with Ryan Gosling, everybody, now!
Ryan, you've been doing a lot of promotion for Project Hail Mary.
Yes.
And you kind of had a moment that went viral.
You threw a football Hail Mary-style through the iconic donut of Randy's Donuts in L.A.
You didn't know I had a cannon, bro?
You didn't know that, bro?
Dude, I believed it, and I fell for it.
I go, I thought you really did that.
I did not do it.
I pretended to do it.
And then I got a lot of heat online for having a terrible throw.
But I had to dump it.
In my defense, I had to dump the ball behind my back, and then it was a pretend ball.
It was great.
I had to dump it.
You had to.
You had to.
It worked.
It worked.
It was really fun.
And you actually brought a video with you tonight.
Can you set this one up for us?
This was crazy.
I swear this is not a paid ad.
I swear this happened by accident.
This was not planned.
I had to do a little thing with Alexa where I just was supposed to ask her facts about the movie.
You know, just see what she knew about the movie.
And this is what happened.
This is what she said, I swear.
Why should people see Project Hail Mary in the theater?
Because the IMAX visuals are absolutely stunning.
Plus, Eva Mendez herself called it a masterpiece that brings back the magic of the big screen experience that you just can't get the full impact of on your couch at home.
That Eva Mendez is great, isn't she?
Absolutely.
She's got this incredible range that people don't always give her credit for.
Thank you.
From her breakthrough in Training Day to that beautiful performance in The Place Beyond the Pines with Ryan Gosling, she brings this authentic vulnerability to every role.
Plus, she's been smart about stepping back from acting to focus on family, which shows she's got her priorities straight.
I couldn't agree more.
Is that?
What?
That's the nicest thing.
Did you know?
Did Ava go crazy?
Did you know that Alexa was a girl's girl?
She's like, oh, Ava Mendes is my girl.
That is so funny.
She couldn't stop talking about her.
It was, I couldn't agree more.
Well, yeah, of course.
Anyway, by the way, can I ask you, can I do it?
Yeah, I think you can, yeah.
It is Ava's birthday today.
She's here.
You have no idea how much she loves teachers.
Loves you so much.
She has her hall monitor sash still from when she was a kid.
She hangs it proudly in the house.
She has no idea we're doing this, by the way.
Would you, if I get her, would you sing happy birthday to her?
Do we have a camera?
Do we have a camera out there?
Does she know?
Can you see if she's... We're going to take you into the studio.
Now, here's the thing.
You might fight the Hudson River tomorrow.
Here she comes.
She's been on the show.
Ava Mendez.
Ava Mendez.
What do you want, baby?
I love teachers so much.
You guys, we owe so much to you guys.
You're so underpaid, and you're so... I just thank you so much.
I had so many amazing teachers.
You cut all this, right?
No, we read that.
We loved it.
I had so many amazing teachers.
Mentor me, and I just want to say thank you to you guys.
Hey, this is your day.
This is your birthday.
This is your birthday.
And actually, you have something special.
And we have the band directors from North Bergen.
Yes, the band directors from North Bergen High School.
Ladies and gentlemen, here to play, happy birthday to Eva Mendes.
Please welcome the North Bergen High School Marching Band.
Ava!
That's all him.
That's not the only surprise.
Everyone in the studio audience, even the marching band, is going to an exclusive screening of Project Hail Mary after the show tonight.
Ryan Gosling, everybody!
The birthday girl, Ava Mendes!
Project Hail Mary is in theaters March 20th.
