Ryan Gosling Talks Playing Ken in Barbie Movie: 'He’s an Accessory'

Ryan Gosling doesn’t think very highly of the Ken doll, let’s just say that!

In a recent interview with The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon asked Gosling to comment on the viral picture of him dressed up in full character as Ken for the upcoming live-action Barbie movie scheduled for 2023.

Gosling explained:

“I was surprised how some people were clutching their pearls about my Ken, as though they ever thought about Ken for a second before this. They never played with Ken!”

Fallon then asked if Gosling thought that Ken was an underappreciated toy and, now, character.

“Nobody plays with Ken,” the actor insisted. “He’s an accessory and not even one of the cool ones.”

While there have been several variations of the Ken doll over the years, Gosling makes a great point: Ken was usually not the center of attention when it came to kids playing with Barbie dolls. Barbie could live exciting lives being an astronaut, a fashionista, or even the president – whereas Ken was only featured in stories where Barbie needed a love interest.

In this live-action adaptation of Barbie, Ken will reportedly have “no money, no job, no car, and no house.” Overall, Gosling summed it all up by saying that Ken is “going through some stuff” in the film.

Nonetheless, fans are very excited about Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women) being attached as the writer and director of Barbie, and can’t wait to see Margot Robbie playing the titular character. As expected, there are also those who are already crushing hard on Gosling as Ken, so maybe the character will have a cultural resurgence after this movie comes out.

Barbie premieres July 21, 2023.

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