Ryan Gosling plays an extremely iconic Ken in the hit movie Barbie. In an interview, he now revealed that he originally turned down the role.
Alongside the inventor of the atomic bomb, Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) are the biggest movie characters of the past year. Gosling alone has increased his already considerable meme potential tenfold with various PR appearances as Barbie’s ultra-blonde boyfriend. And now, out of nowhere, he reveals that he originally turned down the role.
Barbie director got Ryan Gosling back on board with tenacity and wit
As Gosling explained to Variety, he initially had to turn down the role. But director Greta Gerwig didn’t want to hear no:
[The reasons were] schedules and certain things in my life. Months later, I called my agents and asked, ‘Who have they cast Ken with now?’ And they just replied, ‘Greta says it has to be you.
Watch the Ken trailer for Barbie here:
As the Variety article reveals, Gerwig didn’t have a plan B for Ken. Apparently, she had even already marked the Ken dialog in the script with “Ken Ryan Gosling”. And finally she was able to convince him:
‘At one point I explained to him that I’d seen the future and that’s where he plays Ken. That made him laugh, and I think he secretly saw the same future.
“Who am I to argue with Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie?” says Gosling, explaining his late change of heart. He now fully understands their passion, but it took him a while. Millions of fans will thank him for his insight.
Soon you’ll be able to watch Barbie and Oppenheimer back-to-back on subscription
