Ryan Gosling Calls Playing a “70 Year Old Crotchless Doll” in Barbie The Hardest Role of His Acting Career
Canadian actor Ryan Gosling rose to fame with his portrayal of Noah Calhoun in 2004’s The Notebook opposite Rachel McAdams. Gosling since then has been a prominent part of both independent movies as well as major studio movies. His work in 2016’s romantic musical drama La La Land opposite Emma Stone was highly lauded by audience and critics alike.
The actor recently starred as Ken in the Margot Robbie starrer Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. It is the first live-action Barbie movie after various adaptations of the character in animated movies and specials. LA Times described Gosling’s performance as Ken as one of the most rounded, poignant, and greatest roles of his career to date. But do you know Gosling confessed that playing Ken was the hardest role of his career? Let’s find out more.
Also read: After Barbie’s Success, Ryan Gosling is Reportedly Aiming For His MCU Debut in a Mystery Role
Ryan Gosling says playing Ken was like being on his own
During an interview with W Magazine, Canadian actor Ryan Gosling who played the character of Ken in one of the successful movies of 2023’ Barbie talked about his experience. The audience immediately came to appreciate his chemistry alongside Margot Robbie, who played the titular character. In their interview, Gosling was asked about the first impression of his character Ken. He said,
“It was the title page of the script, which said, ‘Barbie and Ken’, but ‘and Ken’ was scratched out. And the next impression was, this is the hardest part I’ll ever play. How do you approach playing a 70-year-old crotchless doll? There is no research you can do for that. There’s no one you can shadow, no documentaries you can watch, no books written about Ken. You’re on your own.”
Back in July, Ryan Gosling appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he shared the reason he signed on to play the iconic toy character on-screen. He said,
“Best script I’ve ever read. I walk out in the backyard and, do you know where I found Ken, Jimmy? Face down in the mud next to a squished lemon. Nobody plays with Ken. He’s an accessory and not even one of the cool ones.”
He added that he then took a picture of the script, and sent it to Gerwig with a text stating that he was ready to play Ken, as he thought the overall story deserved to be told.
Greta Gerwig shares the reason why Ryan Gosling was cast as Ken for Barbie
In Ryan Gosling’s GQ profile, director Greta Gerwig shared the reason why she chose the Canadian actor to play the character. She explained while co-writing the script with partner Noah Baumbach, they were trying to strike a delicate balance with Ken;
‘It’s supposed to be funny but also supposed to be full of suffering and pathos.’
She went on to explain the reason;
“There is a quality to Ryan’s acting, even when he is hilarious, it’s never the actor standing outside of the role commenting on or judging this person. He doesn’t try and make you know that Ryan Gosling knows that this is silly. He does it in a way that takes on all of the potential humiliations of the character as his own.”
Also read: “What is that?” Ryan Gosling was Horrified After a Nightmare Turkish Massage Completely Caught Him Off Guard
Gosling shared with the LA Times that his experience working with the director was nothing like he had expected. He added that she is so brilliantly constructed that it is almost like an amusement park. Of course, that also resulted in Gosling’s I’m Just Ken power ballad which had his fans utterly impressed.
Barbie is available to stream on Max.
