Ryan Gosling Tapped Into His Child Star Roots To Embody Ken In Barbie

Ryan Gosling is a very serious actor. His breakthrough performance came in Henry Bean's riveting "The Believer," where he played a Jewish-born neo-nazi. Five years later, he earned his Academy Award nomination for Best Actor as a cocaine-addicted middle school teacher in Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's "Half Nelson." He earned his second Best Actor nod as a wounded romantic of a jazz pianist in Damien Chazelle's bittersweet "La La Land." In between, he became an art-house tough guy in Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive" and "Only God Forgives." But he's not above having fun or looking like a total doofus, as he displayed to endearing effect in Shane Black's "The Nice Guys," but there he's playing hard against the dreamboat type that could've made him one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood.

In other words, given that he's steadfastly refused to give his "The Notebook" fans one more swooning, Redford-esque star turn, moviegoers figured he'd never deign to star in an unabashedly commercial, four-quadrant-pandering summer tentpole. And this is why his casting as an air-headed Ken in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" came as such a shock.

Obviously, Gerwig's up to something plenty subversive with her adaptation of the legendary Mattel doll, but, judging from the trailer, Gosling's giving Margot Robbie's Barbie a run for her indefatigably cheery money. He's never looked happier or more handsome. Perhaps this is just the blockbuster project Gosling needed, one that allows him to dial up his frequently downplayed charm well past eleven. As for why this might appeal to him, you need only look back to his child-star beginnings, something Gosling wasn't always thrilled to do.

Whilst making the press rounds for "La La Land" six years ago, Gosling dropped by The Graham Norton Show, where the puckish host surprised him with a video of the adolescent, not-yet-rising star busting MC Hammer-like moves during a televised dance competition. Gosling gamely went along with the gag, but his body language exudes maximum embarrassment.

It's a different story in 2023. Gosling seems to have made peace with his hot-stepping moves. As the star told GQ, he had to if he was going to locate his inner Ken. Per Gosling:

"There's something about this Ken that really, I think, relates to that version of myself. Just, like, the guy that was putting on Hammer pants and dancing at the mall and smelling like Drakkar Noir and Aqua Net-ing bangs. I owe that kid a lot. I feel like I was very quick to distance myself from him when I started making more serious films. But the reality is that, like, he's the reason I have everything I have."

We've all been there. During the breakdance craze of the mid-'80s, I rocked a pair of skintight parachute pants and spiked my hair like Kevin Bacon in "Footloose." The difference is, I didn't have Gosling's moves. I guarantee you that man is still a titan on the dance floor. Throw on some C+C Music Factory, and get the hell out of his way.

In any event, it's refreshing to see Gosling dropping his guard and making a grinning, DayGlo fool of himself. He'll surely win an Oscar one day for playing an alcoholic widower with three months to live, but he's a kaleidoscopic talent who mustn't hide his inner goofball away. We'll love and respect you whatever you do, Mr. Gosling.

Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" struts into theaters on June 21, 2023.