Summary
- Ryan Gosling accepted Deidre Hall’s invitation to visit the Days of Our Lives set after praising her on the Happy Sad Confused podcast while promoting Project Hail Mary.
- Gosling called Hall his “OG acting inspiration,” saying it wasn’t Brando in On the Waterfront or De Niro in Taxi Driver — it was her.
- A visit may require some scheduling coordination, as Days of Our Lives shoots ten months in advance.
Nobody put “Ryan Gosling going to Salem” on their 2026 bingo card, and yet here we are, absolutely living for it.
The three-time Oscar-nominated actor just accepted Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall’s invitation to visit the show’s set — and the whole thing started on the Happy Sad Confused podcast last week, when the conversation took a detour nobody saw coming: Gosling’s lifelong love of soap operas.
While promoting his new sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, Gosling revealed that Days of Our Lives — and particularly Hall’s performance as Marlena Evans — was a television staple for him growing up. Not exactly the origin story you’d expect from the guy who made a jazz pianist look cool in La La Land, but honestly? It tracks.
Gosling argued that soap opera actors “do not get the love they deserve” and specifically shouted out Hall for playing “impossible scenarios,” citing the storyline in which her character was “possessed by the devil.”
He didn’t stop there. “She was possessed by the Devil. I loved it,” Gosling said. “What’s amazing is I remember thinking, ‘God, Deidre Hall’s a great actress because she’s having to act possessed right now. This seems like a lot to ask of her.'”
For context: in the ’90s, otherworldly story arcs were everywhere on TV, from The X-Files to Twin Peaks, and Days of Our Lives jumped into that wave with its now-iconic Marlena possession storyline. Young Ryan Gosling was watching it all and apparently taking mental notes.
Hall, who has played Marlena since 1976, responded days later with a video message thanking Gosling and inviting him to visit the set. “We’re just thrilled to be acknowledged and to be so well spoken of,” she said, noting that the cast shared the clip with her behind the scenes. She was not about to let that energy go unreturned.
Gosling’s response? Immediate and emphatic. In his own Instagram video, he declared, “Deidre Hall?! Are you kidding me? Yes! This is a very enthusiastic yes to a very cordial invitation to visit you on set.”
Then came the line that broke the internet just a little. “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.”
Gosling also thanked podcast host Josh Horowitz for helping make the exchange happen, calling him a “magical guy.” He then signed off with a joke that doubled as a plug for his film: “I’m not worried about the possession. I’ll say a Hail Mary before I get there. I’ll be fine. And I’ll see you on set!”
The wordplay was intentional. The charm was not even a little surprising.
What makes this whole saga even better is who amplified it. Gosling’s wife Eva Mendes has been actively promoting the exchange — so yes, she’s fully on board with her husband’s very public love of a 78-year-old soap queen. That’s the dream, honestly.
A visit, however, may take some coordination. There is no set filming schedule currently in place, and Peacock confirmed the show will not be filming next week. Days shoots ten months in advance — but they’ve got to write Gosling in when he gets there. May we humbly suggest a possession arc?
Project Hail Mary is in theaters now. New episodes of Days of Our Lives stream on Peacock.
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