Greta Gerwig Names The Four Legendary Actors That Inspired Ryan Gosling's Ken In Barbie

If you're making a "Barbie" movie, how do you approach a major movie star for the role of Ken without insulting them? "We think you'd be perfect for a character based on a child's doll! When audiences think vacuous and non-threatening, they think of you!"

Fortunately, Warner Bros' "Barbie" film promises to be more than brand service. Directed by Academy Award-nominee Greta Gerwig (from a screenplay she wrote with her Academy Award-nominee partner Noah Baumbach), the movie seems to be (lightly) pondering the dolls' place and purpose in our society 64 years after she was first thrust into the adoring arms of children. But whereas Barbie has been an aspirational figure for girls (e.g. breaking the glass ceiling as an executive or becoming an astronaut), Ken's achievements aren't paradigm-shattering for boys. He's just doing stuff dudes have always been able to do, and looking like a sunkissed dweeb doing it.

For Ryan Gosling, who landed the potentially embarrassing role of Ken, he could always fall back on the maxim that it takes a smart actor to convincingly play stupid.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gerwig revealed that Gosling was the only choice for Ken. "Margot [Robbie] and I just wouldn't take no for an answer."

Gosling is a phenomenally talented actor who flashed sharp comedic instincts in Shane Black's "The Nice Guys," but he's generally gone out of his way to avoid goofing on his Mouseketeer past and blindingly good looks — probably because you only get to do that once, so you'd better make it count. It helped that Gerwig believed Ken could only be played by a brilliant actor. As she told Rolling Stone:

"From the moment that Margot came to me and I knew we were making this for Margot, I equally knew we were making this for Ryan. And I did not know Ryan at all. I'd never met him. I just was sure, and as soon as I thought of it, it made me so happy. Who else could do this? It's some combination of Marlon Brando meets Gene Wilder meets John Barrymore meets John Travolta."

Most people would view Ken as a beefcake Brundlefly of Tab Hunter and Troy Donahue, but that's only on the surface. Ken's not supposed to have anything going on under the hood, so casting way against type for a character based on a doll is something of a masterstroke. 

We'll see if Gerwig's gambit paid off when "Barbie" struts into theaters on July 21.