The platinum hair, the sleeveless denim with personalized underwear, the chiseled abs, and a pink backdrop to bring it all together. June 2022, when the first image released of Ryan Gosling as a live-action Ken, seems so long ago. It was a simpler time, when critical murmurings about the actor’s appearance weren’t too turbulent. Plastic won’t crack or melt without facing very extreme temperatures, and it looks to be a pretty pleasant, beachside setting in Barbie, from what the trailers show. To all the naysayers, let it be said Gosling is still a Hollywood heartthrob. He was one ten years ago, and he will be one ten years from now. (His genes are just that good.) He might look older in screenshots, but that’s what happens when someone raises the sharpness to awfully high levels. Gosling is as much of a draw to this upcoming movie as Margot Robbie, who will be playing the titular Barbie. This role in this type of movie might be a bit unexpected, but not too shocking from the genre jumps in his career. Cool down with the social media criticism for a minute, Ryan Gosling is superb casting for so many fantastic reasons.
‘Barbie’ Brings the Fuchsia and the Sunshine
Around the time when that first image was released, Gosling was doing promotion for Netflix's The Gray Man. While doing press for the film on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor had a chance to reflect on the criticism bubbling up from his portrayal of Ken. "I was surprised by how some people were sort of clutching their pearls about my Ken, as though they never thought about Ken for a second before this. Nobody played with Ken,” he said. It’s safe to say Barbie’s boyfriend is in for a potential Ken-naissance, and this comes down to who Barbie director Greta Gerwig hired. Gosling is an actor who doesn’t take himself too seriously and who isn’t afraid to take risks. This is extremely important for playing an IP-character living in Barbie Land, where everything from the landscape to accessories are depicted as a toy playset instead of leaning on realism. His dramatic chops can come into play just as easily when the movie journeys onward, past the sign that calls out, “Real World This Way,” but so, too, can his comedic chops. Leaving aside any kind of self-conscious feelings, Gosling can just have fun in the role.
No one needs to be tasked with reading up on the lore of Kenneth Sean Carson (Ken’s full name, by the way) to understand he’s a “golden retriever boyfriend,” or to define it further, a trophy boyfriend for Barbie who strives to make her life simple, happy, and fulfilling. Because of this, Ken isn’t like Gosling’s previous roles. That isn’t new, though, as the actor has always avoided typecasting by jumping around and playing all sorts of roles. The rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love established the onscreen power couple duo of Emma Stone and Gosling, where their characters fall in love in one night thanks to a callback to an '80s classic. Leave it to Gosling to display his upper-body strength when the two performed the famous lift from Dirty Dancing. Nobody puts Baby in a corner, and nobody will put Ken or Barbie in any of the corners of that famous Barbie Dreamhouse, either. The onscreen power couple of Gosling and Stone was never better than it was in a very different kind of love story.
Ryan Gosling Isn’t Old, He’s in His Prime
In La La Land, Gosling had to deal with the demands of a musical, and during his solo in “City of Stars,” his vocals along with the score makes for sweet, sweet melancholy. He isn’t a stranger to singing, though, as he’s part of the band Dead Man’s Bones. What he didn’t know, however, was how to do was play the piano. He took lessons to rapidly learn how to play it to avoid using a hand double and to keep in director Damien Chazelle’s desire for it to be captured in one take. Gosling’s role of Seb is incredibly high-strung, the opposite of the actor's typically-laid back demeanor, which was never more apparent than during the aftermath of the wrong Best Picture winner at the Oscars. The La La Land team took to the stage, only for Moonlight to correctly be announced not long after.
Everyone in the auditorium was stupefied. Everyone but Gosling, that is. (He was photographed hiding a smirk.) In an interview on The Graham Norton Show, Gosling expressed thoughts on what went down on Hollywood's big night, “I thought someone had been hurt, you know, the way everyone was talking amongst themselves, it felt like someone had a heart attack, or worse, and it felt like someone was in danger. And then I found out that they just read the wrong name.” Margot Robbie, a few years before she would be Barbie, is also included on Graham Norton’s couch lineup for the episode. The bubblegum-pink stars were aligning, if Gosling-Stone were the power couple for the 2010s, Barbie will usher in the (fingers-crossed) Robbie-Gosling era for the 2020s.
At the end of the second Barbie teaser trailer, Ken quietly wonders if he and Barbie should spend the night together, with neither having any clue what is supposed to happen if they do. Gosling’s subtle reading of the dialogue is enough of a peek at his comedic timing. He doesn’t need to go big to find the laughs, something that comes naturally to him even during press interviews and talk show appearances. For how serious Blade Runner 2049 is story-wise, the long-awaited sequel’s leading men weren’t always sporting a frown on their face. In fact, their frowns turned upside down frequently as they promoted it. The big news going around with Harrison Ford and Gosling was how Ford actually connected his fist to Gosling’s face during a fight scene. From the same Graham Norton interview, Ford didn’t give himself too much credit, saying, “It was not a good punch.” Mind you, this would be getting a punch from Indiana Jones, Han Solo, and Rick Deckard. “I’ll be the judge of that,” Gosling inserts. Fingers crossed Ken is as charming and sarcastic as King Gosling.
‘Barbie’ Will Be Another Colorful Role for Ryan Gosling
Say what you want all you “he’s too old!” critics, but even Ryan Gosling doesn’t need to have his “heartthrob” status declared. He’s even done his part to refuse being titled People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” back during the period between 2011 and 2014. A source from the magazine went on to say, “The consensus was he’s too serious for it, too artsy.” Keep in mind, after Crazy, Stupid, Love, Gosling would move into gloomy thrillers such as Drive and Only God Forgives, just to name a few. While “too serious” won’t be seen when he plays Ken, “too artsy” might be true. If Ken’s wardrobe is any hint, it doesn't look like he will be going anywhere without those neon rollerblades! Ryan Gosling can sing, dance, and be dramatic and comedic with ease, all essential skills for stepping into the rubber shoes of an icon. He shouldn't be limited to how his appearance looks in a pair of teaser trailers. And he’s still younger than the Ken doll, which turned 62 in March. There will be a whole collection of Kens audiences can root for, too. From Simu Liu to Ncuti Gatwa, the movie is seemingly following up on Mattel’s push for inclusivity with their line of Ken dolls. Gosling will be headlining, yet he isn’t the only just Ken, he’s one of many.
Gosling hopes to reinvigorate the popularity of Ken, so can’t everyone get on that bandwagon? With a background in versatile roles, these skills are at his disposal. In teasing the role for Entertainment Tonight, Gosling gave the biggest scoop so far on his character. “Ken’s got no money, he’s got no job, he’s got no car, he’s got no house. He’s going through some stuff,” he said. Barbie’s boyfriend has always been looking out for her best interests, rather than focusing too much on his own. Gerwig's Barbie might just change that, and thankfully everyone will get to see how that could play out on the big screen this July. Ryan Gosling won’t be plucked out from the movie. He's here to stay, so let’s leave the guy alone and enjoy the Kenergy he’s happy to provide.