Julio Torres: Ryan Gosling Is a ‘World Builder’ of an Actor Who Co-Created ‘SNL’ Skit ‘Papyrus 2’

Julio Torres is crediting Ryan Gosling for being a “world-builder” of a comedic actor.

The “Problemista” writer/director/star told Entertainment Weekly that Gosling had more than a few sketch ideas when he returned to host “SNL.” Torres previously worked as a “Saturday Night Live” writer, and also returned with a skit per Gosling’s request to follow-up their viral “Papyrus” sequence parodying the font used in James Cameron’s “Avatar.” And much like the “Avatar” franchise itself, Gosling had a vision for making multiple installments of the “Papyrus” sketch.

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“With no Ryan Gosling, there’s no ‘Papyrus 1,’ and there’s no ‘Papyrus 2,’” Torres said. “The first one was this sort of throwaway joke I made that he really latched on to. He was like, ‘Oh, I think maybe there’s an idea there,’ and I was like, ‘I really don’t think so.’ I didn’t tell him that, but I really didn’t think so. But then I wrote it, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, I think this could work. And then when I saw him perform it, I was like, ‘Oh, this definitely works.’”

Torres credited Gosling for bringing the concept of a sequel years later to him.

“He was like, ‘Should we make a sequel?’ and at first I was like, why?” Torres said. “But then I started thinking about it. I wrote it, and then I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s bringing this to life yet again.’ I love actors who are in themselves world builders, and he is that for sure. It’s a dramatic role.”

Gosling’s “La La Land” co-star Emma Stone also recently reflected on Torres’ satirical tone for “SNL” sketches with a scrapped “The Silver Woman” bit.

“Julio and I talked about this Silver Woman, and he’s like, ‘She’s… having like this, slow motion mental breakdown. You know, it’s like Nicole Kidman in ‘Birth,’” Stone said during “The A24 Podcast” alongside Torres. “And it was a very dramatic performance, as it is in most of your work, like Tilda [Swinton] in ‘Problemista,’ or like in ‘The Actress,’ which is another one that we did for ‘SNL.’ None of this is taken lightly. Like, your approach to comedy is like, while it might be absurdist …you have to believe it with your whole heart, and it has to be life or death.”

Stone is still committed to the shelved sketch, harking back to being a well-intentioned parody of recent AFI Life Achievement Award winner Kidman’s filmography.

“But the idea is that she’s having a dinner party, and she brings out her silver — her silverware. And she can hear the silver. It’s driving her insane because when someone’s taking a bite of something she can hear the fork scream. Like, she can hear the pain of the ladle. You know, like, what they’re going through, in order to serve these like well-to-do people. She’s deeply empathetic to her silver,” Stone said of the sketch. “And it was so genius, and I really, I just did not Kidman enough. I really didn’t. And I want another chance. I want another crack at ‘Silver Woman.'”

Torres might be able to pen yet another follow-up as he himself is back on TV with upcoming HBO series “Fantasmas” following the cancellation of “Los Espookys.”

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