The reason Ryan Gosling decided to join the ‘Barbie’ cast
The long-awaited release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has been accompanied by an outpouring of praise for star Ryan Gosling’s depiction of love interest and accessory Ken.
Over the last thirty years, Gosling has evolved from a Disney child actor to the beloved Hollywood darling we all know. After being catapulted into stardom through his appearance opposite Rachel McAdams in Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook, Gosling began a love affair with independent cinema.
His awkwardly endearing performance in Lars and the Real Girl in 2007 introduced him to a whole new audience outside of the mainstream, while his heartbreaking performance in Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine in 2010 secured his reputation as a serious actor. The film has become a modern indie romance classic, with one scene, in particular, gaining praise from indie film circles, in which Gosling plays the ukulele and sings ‘You Always Hurt the One You Love’.
He further cemented his position in the hearts of cult cinema fans with an appearance in Drive in 2011, which also proved his acting chops outside of romance and comedy, marking his first starring action role. Alongside this, he featured in the star-studded Crazy, Stupid, Love alongside Steve Carrell and future La La Land collaborator Emma Stone and his performance was heralded by mainstream audiences and critics alike.
Since then, he’s continued this range and momentum with appearances in buddy comedy The Nice Guys, Adam McKay’s financial drama The Big Short, Damien Chazelle’s ode to old Hollywood La La Land and Denis Villeneuve’s beautiful Blade Runner sequel. His filmography has always toed the line between the commercial and the cult and demonstrated his range across genres, endearing audiences with his charismatic performances and personality along the way.
This has culminated with his appearance opposite Margot Robbie in Barbie, which sees Greta Gerwig take on her first blockbuster. The celebrated indie director has become widely adored for her 2017 Saoirse Ronan-fronted coming-of-age Lady Bird and her warm, intimate adaptation of Little Women. Barbie marks her biggest project yet and has already broken box office records by becoming the biggest opening weekend for a female director of all time.
Despite the enormous hype surrounding the film, it took a misplaced Ken doll to convince Gosling to channel his Kenergy and take the part. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon for The Tonight Show, Gosling dubbed Gerwig’s screenplay the “best script [he’s] ever read”.
After he was offered the role, he recalls encountering a sign to take it in his own garden: “I walk out in the backyard and, do you know where I found Ken? Face down in the mud next to a squished lemon.” Gosling texted a photo of the doll to director Gerwig with the accompanying message, “I shall be your Ken, for his story must be told”.
He continued, “Finally, it’s happening. This has been coming my whole life… I felt like I was seeing myself. I felt seen. I think a lot of Kens will feel seen when they see this. Gotta do it for the Kens. Nobody plays with the Kens.”
Alongside his desire to tell the forgotten story of Ken, Gosling was bribed to take the part by Robbie. In the New York Times, she revealed, “I just bribed him, really. That’s the basis of our relationship. ‘Just come do the Barbie movie. I’ll buy you a present every day.'” Robbie committed to this promise and presented Gosling with a present from Barbie to Ken each day, including a book about horses and a puka shell necklace.
Between an abandoned Ken doll and an abundance of gifts from Robbie, audiences have received their own gift: an all-singing, all-dancing, all-time great performance from Gosling. He delivers the performance his career has been gearing up for, engaging his indie and mainstream audiences alike and becoming synonymous with the iconic character.
