His portrayal of the beach-protecting, Barbie-loving Ken and his power anthem "I'm Just Ken" has now become a pop culture phenomenon, but Ryan Gosling initially turned down the role.
In a new interview with Variety, Ryan Gosling revealed that he initially turned down the role of Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. “There were actual reasons why I couldn't do the film,” he said.
That ultimately led to other big names, including Bowen Yang, Dan Levy and Ben Platt, being unable to commit as Kens, with Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, John Cena and Scott Evans making up the male doll collection alongside Ryan Gosling's Ken #1.
The REAL REASON Ryan Gosling Agreed to Play Ken in the Barbie Movie
Who was almost cast as Ken?
Among those that were close to playing Kens were Emmy Award-winning SNL comedian Bowen Yang, Schitt's Creek and The Idol actor Dan Levy, as well as Dear Evan Hansen star Ben Platt.
Barbie and Ken felt it was “time to spend some quality time apart” with Arons hinting that Ken's reluctance to put a ring on it may have played a part in their breakup. Still, the two swore the breakup was amicable and they would remain friends.
Kelly was introduced in 1995 and retired in 2010. She was replaced by Chelsea in 2011. According to Chelsea's official Mattel introduction, Kelly and Chelsea are the same character, only with a new name. Kelly's body style changed around late 2008 to have less short and stubby arms and look older.
Bomer said he also spoke to director Greta Gerwig about the project. But in the end, Barbie would have required him to spend extensive time away from his family — and he decided to respectfully pass on the opportunity.
She later explained to The Hollywood Reporter that it was actually creative differences that led her to back out. "They definitely didn't want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it," said the actress and comedian in March 2022.
Ultimately, the logistics of the filming process resulted in scheduling conflicts that pushed Bowen Yang, Dan Levy, and Ben Platt out of the running to play Ken. "They were, I'm not kidding, really bummed they couldn't do it,...
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Barbie's casting directors Allison Jones and Lucy Bevan very casually revealed three other Hollywood A-listers who turned down the role of Ken: namely Bowen Yang, Dan Levy, and Ben Platt.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were both reportedly paid $12.5 million for their roles in Barbie. With the strong feminist themes displayed throughout the film, they were rightly paid the same amount for their work.
Barbie's boyfriend is Ken Carson. Ken (Kenneth Carson) is a Mattel toy doll introduced by Mattel in 1961 as the fictional boyfriend of toy doll Barbie, introduced in 1959.
Barbie, then, couldn't love Gosling's Ken back because he wasn't the Ken designed for her, but at the same time, Barbieland might not have had a Beach Barbie he could fall in love with (the closest to it being Dua Lipa's Mermaid Barbie, who had John Cena's Kenmaid).
Summary. Margot Robbie's friends were surprised that she and Ryan Gosling's Ken don't kiss in the Barbie film, questioning her role as a producer. Barbie and Ken have a close bond but do not share a romantic relationship in the movie, with Barbie explicitly stating that she isn't interested in Ken that way.
Sugar Daddy Ken was created in 2009 for Barbie's 50th anniversary as part of the adult doll collection line for Mattel. Despite the suggestive name — Sugar Daddy refers to an older man who pays a younger woman for companionship — Sugar supposedly refers to this Ken doll's dog, a white West Highland terrier.
Hmm. Ken (short for Kenneth Carson) hit the toy aisle as Barbie's buyable boyfriend two years after her 1959 debut. He was available in two styles — blond or brunette hair, made of hard plastic — and came dressed in very short red swim trunks.
Dan Levy almost starred in the hit film "Barbie." Find out why the "Schitt's Creek" co-creator turned down a role in Greta Gerwig's movie, a decision he says still haunts him.
Schumer, however, later shed more light on what led to her Barbie exit, telling The Hollywood Reporter in March 2022 that creative differences caused her to back out. "They definitely didn't want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it," she said at the time.
Technically, Ken has no official age (he is a doll, after all) although he was first introduced as Barbie's boyfriend on March 11, 1961, which means he has been around for 62 years.
