Michael Cera reveals Ben Affleck was meant to appear in ‘Barbie’
Michael Cera, one of the many stars of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, has revealed that Ben Affleck was due to appear in the movie.
Notably, Cera played Allan in the movie, the doll that was first introduced as Ken’s best friend in 1964. The character was named after the son-in-law of Mattel’s co-founder Ruth Handler, and in the film, he sides with Barbies after Ken turns to the patriarchy. Cera is just one of many famous faces who appear in Barbie, alongside stars such as Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera and Will Ferrell.
In a joint Q&A with co-stars Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, and Kate McKinnon, hosted by Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Cera revealed Affleck was initially meant to make a cameo appearance during his character’s fight scene with the construction Kens.
“I wasn’t even supposed to fight in the movie,” Cera said. “Am I allowed to say what was supposed to be? It was supposed to be Ben Affleck. Am I allowed to say that?”
However, Cera revealed that the former Batman star was forced to back out due to other commitments. “I think Ben wanted to do it, but he was directing his movie, but they didn’t find that out until the 11th hour,” Cera added. This meant Allan got more screen time.
“They’re like, ‘OK, Ben is out. Something has to happen here, so you’re gonna fight them,'” Cera continued. “I had to jump in with the stunt team. I had just gotten over Covid, and they had me training, and I almost died just doing a warm-up. I had to lie down in the trailer, and they sent a nurse to see me, and I was sent home. So then we had a second rehearsal, and I learned it.”
Regarding fighting the construction Kens, Cera added: “That was never part of Allan’s journey. In the rehearsal, we did the thing where I murdered the guy with the shovel, and it was like a joke. And then we were like, ‘Greta is not going to let me murder someone in the movie,’ and it’s in the movie.”
In other news, Cera recently revealed that he wants Allan to have a spin-off movie. He told Jimmy Fallon: “I think it would be kind of a weird movie, but I’m there.”
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