Deidre Hall has spent 50 years playing Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives, so it takes a pretty specific pitch to surprise her. Enter Ryan Gosling, Barbie, and one gloriously strange idea involving Marlena’s office. During a new interview, Hall opened up about her milestone anniversary, Gosling’s well-known love for DAYS, and the storyline she immediately started writing down once the suggestion was made.
Key Takeaways
- Ryan Gosling still hasn’t made his long-promised visit to the DAYS set.
- Hall praised Gosling’s reputation for kindness and generosity.
- Hall said Gosling could play “anything he wants” in Salem.
- She loved a fan-pitched storyline involving Gosling as Ken in Marlena’s office.
- Hall immediately called the idea “brilliant” and joked about writing it down.
Ryan Gosling Comes to Salem?
Hall was on The TV Watercooler when the conversation turned to Gosling, who had previously called her his OG acting inspiration and had accepted her invitation to visit the DAYS set. Asked whether he had made the trip yet, Hall hilariously said, “That stinker has not been there yet.” She added that people keep asking to visit the day he finally shows up, which sounds about right. Salem can handle devil possession, but apparently Gosling’s arrival at the studio may require crowd control.
Hall had nothing but kind things to say about him. “What a lovely reputation he’s got,” she said, noting that she keeps hearing he is generous, kind, and respected by the people who work with him. When asked what kind of role he could play on DAYS, Hall’s first answer was simple enough: “Anything he wants.”
Then came the actual pitch. Since Gosling played Ken and Hall once had a Marlena Evans Barbie doll, the idea was floated that Gosling could appear as a patient who believes he is Ken and that Marlena is the Marlena Barbie. Hall immediately lit up, saying, “I’m writing this down. I’m writing this down. This is brilliant.”
READ THIS: Don’t miss the turns about to shake Salem.
Marlena, Ken, and Barbie World
The idea only got better from there. Hall thought it might become a Marlena and Ken Doll kind of story, while the conversation drifted into the possibility of Gosling’s character mentally wandering into Barbie World. Naturally, that meant a beach sequence, because as Barbie viewers know, Ken’s job is beach.
Hall seemed fully entertained by the whole thing. She also pointed out that fans often have terrific ideas because they know the show and understand what they want to see. The only problem is the usual daytime issue: DAYS tapes far ahead, so even a brilliant idea has to wait its turn behind whatever chaos Salem already has booked.
Still, it is hard not to picture it: Marlena sitting calmly across from a patient who believes he is Ken. If Gosling ever does make it to the set, DAYS may already have the perfect excuse to put him in Marlena’s office.
