The history of Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ casting
Although it’s hard now to imagine anyone else portraying the live-action version of the doll, Margot Robbie was not always set to be the lead in Barbie. Initially attached to the project solely as a producer, Robbie offered director Greta Gerwig the freedom to explore other options for the lead role, even though she was involved in discussions with Mattel executives from the start.
She insisted that Gerwig need not feel obliged to cast her and was comfortable with the idea of other actors being considered. Robbie, known for her stellar roles in films like Birds of Prey and I, Tonya, confessed that she initially didn’t consider herself a potential Barbie. “This is going to sound stupid, but I really didn’t even think about playing Barbie until years into developing the project,” she admitted to Vogue. Once Gerwig was on board, Robbie insisted that the choice of the protagonist should be completely up to her.
However, according to Robbie, Gerwig seemed to have only one person in mind for the role from the outset – Robbie herself. Gerwig’s belief in Robbie for the part was so strong that, according to an interview with Collider, she said to Robbie, “Shut up, I want to write this for you”, Despite Robbie’s reluctance, Gerwig stood firm in her decision.
Much earlier, before Gerwig was attached to the project, Amy Schumer was in the running to play Barbie. Time magazine reported that Schumer withdrew from the project due to creative differences – a result of a less “feminist and cool” version of the film being presented prior to Gerwig’s involvement. In 2017, after Schumer’s departure, Interstellar actor Anne Hatheway signed up to play the doll. However, after a further year of stagnation, the project was shipped over from Sony to Warner Bros, which is when Robbie came aboard in a producing capacity.
When Gerwig finally got the job of directing Barbie, it was critical to Robbie that Gerwig and her co-writer and partner, Noah Baumbach, had complete creative freedom. Robbie’s resolve was to let them shape the movie unhindered, free from the influence of any agenda pushers – as she told Time, “Not Mattel, not Warner Bros, not us.”
Despite her dual role as a producer and now the lead actor, Robbie wanted the film’s director to feel free to choose the best person to tell the story they envisioned. She explained: “I didn’t want our director to feel pressured to put me in the role. So I was just really upfront about, like, ‘I won’t be offended in the slightest. We could go to anyone. Whatever story you want to tell and whoever you want that to be, I support that.”
Finally, it was Gerwig’s unwavering vision that made Robbie accept her role as Barbie. The resulting film has caused something of a seismic cultural shockwave – partly due to its insanely large marketing budget but mainly due to the seminal performance from Robbie, deft direction from Gerwig and witty, sophisticated writing from Gerwig and Baumbach.
