“I was staring into a vortex of fear”: Even the Suave James Bond and Mr. Darcy Actors Hold No Candle To Ryan Gosling’s Ken in $1.4B Barbie For One Reason
Ryan Gosling’s recent move to sing in his latest movie Barbie starring Margot Robbie reminded the audience about the 2008 film Mamma Mia!, a jukebox musical love comedy directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Catherine Johnson, starring Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan. The well-known film is based on the songs of the musical group ABBA and was inspired by Johnson’s musical novel of the same name.
According to reports, the film was a collaboration between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. After its release, the film received mixed reviews from critics and viewers, who did, however, compliment the soundtrack while criticizing the cast for not having the necessary acting experience. Despite garnering negative reviews, the 2008 film went on to become the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time in 2008. But Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan were afraid of something while filming the movie. Let’s find out.
Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan were terrified to sing in Mamma Mia!
Actors Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan, who played Harry Bright and Sam Carmichael in the 2008 release Mamma Mia! respectively, were terrified to sing and dance in a sequence when they showed up at Meryl Streep’s character Donna Sheridan’s daughter, Sophie Sheridan, played by Amanda Seyfried’s wedding not known who the father is.
Colin Firth, during an interview via Female First, said,
“I showed up on the first day of pre-record absolutely terrified! Then I turned round to be introduced to Pierce and I was staring into a vortex of fear, and it was the same with Stellan, and I suddenly realised we weren’t alone.”
The actor explained that there were spectators including Seyfried who, as Sophie, was trying to figure out who her father was. Firth noted that ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus were on set throughout the filming as they composed the songs for the movie. Meryl Streep said about the musicians via Female First,
“Benny and Bjorn were there all the time – whenever we were filming. They were very generous, letting us make the songs our own.”As long as we were exact on the words and the timing and didn’t lose the beat – they let us express it how we wanted to express it. I didn’t want to disappoint them, I didn’t want to let them down.”
Pierce Brosnan shares watching Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth, terrified, helped him
Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, during an interview with GQ, admitted that it was terrifying to have to sing and dance on-screen, especially the songs by ABBA, adding that ‘SOS’ is such a warhorse of a song. But he did share one thing that comforted him at the time and he could perform well;
“I think what gave me the greatest comfort on the day of recording the songs at Air Studios was to see Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth looking like rabbits caught in the headlights. They were terrified.”
In another interview with Good Housekeeping, the James Bond actor shared,
“You know, I actually think I should have done it sooner — maybe I could go back and redo some of my movies and put music in them. Imagine a singing Bond! That would have been something. But with ‘Mamma Mia!’ I’ve gotten lucky, because I’m not just singing — I’m singing Abba, and people can’t help but get up and boogie when they hear these songs.”
Also read: Ryan Gosling Reference in ‘The Conjuring’ Exposes the Lesser-Known Past of the ‘Barbie’ Actor
Ryan Gosling’s I’m Just Ken received praise from audience
Talking about lead actors singing and dancing on-screen has a huge impact on the audience and Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan’s story reminds the audience about one of the recently released Barbie movies and the singing sequence is by Ryan Gosling.
Ryan Gosling performed a strong and impactful ballad ‘I’m Just Ken’ in the movie which has been appreciated by the audience a lot, especially the way Gosling sings. During a discussion via NME, the director Greta Gerwig was asked how she convinced Gosling to sing and dance, to which she said,
“He has a beautiful voice, and he’s a beautiful dancer. We kind of got there organically. I think if I had said, ‘I want you to sing and dance in this movie,’ he would not necessarily have done that for me. But it was like the kind of boiling a lobster. I think by the time he was singing and dancing, he didn’t even totally know how we had gotten there. But he’s so fabulous at it.”
The actor was, however, self-conscious about singing the song Push in the movie and said he needed the kid he had left behind to make the movie, so he went back, made peace with him, and asked for his help, which turned out to be good for him.
Source: Female First
