Ryan Gosling, Gentleman And Scholar, Is Always Ready To Defend Ken

You probably don't think a whole lot about Ken, Barbie's sidekick-slash-love-interest, and I'm going to venture to assume you probably never did. He's always taken the backburner to Barbie, and Greta Gerwig's highly anticipated film all about the world-famous doll is no exception. Margot Robbie promises to do a stunning job in her role as the titular Barbie, but you can bet that Ryan Gosling's Ken will be a stand-out supporting performance.

Gosling's casting initially got a lot of backlash online. People didn't understand why Gerwig would choose a middle-aged actor to play the perfectly toned plastic doll they knew so well. Margot Robbie is still considered a modern standard of beauty, but she too is approaching middle age at 32, so Gosling's casting wasn't totally incongruous. Regardless, the release of the trailer has since shed a little bit of light on this unconventional choice.

The picture-perfect fictional world of Barbie starts to crumble as little things start going wrong, from Barbie's feet falling flat to Barbie falling flat on her face. She decides to travel to the real world to learn why her own world is wobbling, and Ken stows away in her pink convertible. This introduction to the story hints at themes of aging and embracing bodily changes, especially in women, but in men as well. If you don't think men need that kind of messaging, just look at the response that Gosling's casting garnered.

Even though Gosling doubted his "kenergy" at first, he quickly realized that Ken had been overlooked for far too long.

Gosling was a little baffled by the negative reaction when news of him joining the already buzzed-about "Barbie" project first dropped. The actor told GQ:

"It is funny, this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this? [...] But suddenly, it's like, 'No, we've cared about Ken this whole time.' No, you didn't. You never did. You never cared. Barbie never f***ed with Ken. That's the point. If you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed. This is why his story must be told."

For anyone still opposed to Gosling's Ken, he has the perfect antidote. "I would say, you know, if people don't want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with," the actor added, and he wasn't joking. The film boasts a range of other Kens competing for Barbie's affection, including Simu Liu of "Shang-Chi" and Ncuti Gatwa from "Sex Education" as Country Ken.

Even still, Gosling finds himself oddly defensive of his own stereotypical Ken after immersing himself in the part for so long. "I care about this dude now," he admitted. "I'm like his representative. 'Ken couldn't show up to receive this award, so I'm here to accept it for him.' "

Gosling was initially drawn to Ken because he was so historically overlooked. The actor was particularly intrigued by his overwhelmingly vague job description. "Ken, his job is beach," he mused. "For 60 years, his job has been beach. What the f*** does that even mean?"

The two-time Oscar winner was compelled by the character as soon as he read the film's script, written by married filmmaking duo Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. "I kind of respond to scripts, I guess, or characters, where there's that kind of dynamic. I recognize it," he said. Gosling recognized that he would have to emulate a childlike wonder and tap into his own child star roots to play Ken. At the same time, he would have to play out the harshness of aging and be exposed to the world's criticisms for the very first time. That's a pretty complex character to play, all while being forced to the sideline by Barbie.

"Barbie" clearly addresses Ken's neglectful existence, which Gosling has always noticed. When asked if his own daughters played with Ken dolls, he said they did — in a way. "I did see him, like, face down in the mud outside one day, next to a squished lemon," he recalled, "and it was like, This guy's story does need to be told, you know?" Gosling will be telling Ken's story in theaters this July.