Barbie: America Ferrera Says Her Character Being Latina Helped Her Get the Role
Ferrera says Gerwig making Gloria Latina was a gift.
Greta Gerwig's Barbie was the biggest movie of 2023, one that dominated the box office as well as popular culture and for star America Ferrera, who played the human Gloria in the film and delivered its defining monologue, it's a film she says that she might not have been a part of had it not been for the race of the character. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Ferrera says that she thinks that Gerwig creating Gloria as a Latina helped her land the role.
"To be frank, the majority of my career, I have not been considered for roles that weren't written specifically Latina," Ferrera said. "And so that, in and of itself, limits what people are willing to think of you as and what's available to you. The gift of what Greta offered me is that she actually did write the Barbie part as Latina."
She continued, "I suspect that if she hadn't written it as such, I might not have been the person they went to. However, even though the role was written Latina, it was not a Latina role. Being Latina was not the purpose of the character. She got to be a full human and representative of so many things. It wasn't a 'check the box' kind of casting. That has begun to change somewhat, for me at least."
Ferrera Previously Said She's Glad She Didn't Play a Barbie
Ferrera previously told ComicBook.com that she was glad she didn't have to play a Barbie.
"Gloria was the part that I would have picked. And I'm glad that's the part [director] Greta [Gerwig] wanted me for. And I did get to wear fun Barbie outfits, without spoiling it. So, yeah," she said.
What Is the Barbie Movie About?
In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel.
Barbie is now streaming on Max.