Ryan Gosling Nearly Turned Down His Oscar-Nominated Ken Role In Barbie

Ryan Gosling has opened up about his initial reluctance to take on the role of Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie in a new Variety profile. Despite the enthusiastic anticipation that built considerable momentum before the film's release in July 2023, Gosling found the process of preparing for the role--and accepting it in the first place--much more harrowing.

Gosling told Variety that Ken was "the hardest role I've ever had to play," and that he initially turned it down due to scheduling conflicts and "some trepidation about embodying what was a punchline in pop culture."

An additional challenge to the role was the lack of substantial material to draw from for Ken's character. But once he came around to the idea, Gosling said finding out who Ken was "was like a high-wire act--in tiny shorts and no shirt--with no net… I wanted to make sure if I was going to do it--I was like, 'I can't mess this up. I can't be the guy that messed up the Barbie movie. So if I'm going to do it, I have to do more than I know that I'm even capable of.'"

Gosling drew inspiration from his own experiences as a child performer, singing at weddings in pursuit of validation. He also remembers many times coming home and asking himself what he was doing in the role in the first place, adding that his wife, Eva Mendes, would tell him, "Just make it about Barbie." And so, Gosling explained, "Every take became an opportunity to get Barbie to notice me."

In March, the Oscars will reveal the extent to which Barbie has caused the film industry to take notice. Despite multiple nominations in various categories, some argue that Barbie' has been overlooked by the Academy. Gosling, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, criticized the Academy's omissions of Robbie for Best Actress and Gerwig for Best Director following the Oscar nominations announcements.

Barbie was named GameSpot's best movie of 2023.