Barbie: Ryan Gosling Explains Why His Daughters Haven’t Seen the Film

Barbie hit theaters last summer, but the phenomenon hasn’t stopped. The Greta Gerwig-directed film keeps getting nominations this awards season, which means the film’s cast is still busy promoting the project. Barbie ended up being the highest-grossing movie of 2023, but there are still two people who haven’t seen it: Ryan Gosling’s daughters. Gosling plays Ken in the film, and the role has become a fan-favorite. When asked if his daughters – who are 7 and 9 – have seen the film, Gosling had a pretty hilarious response.

Gosling spoke to E! News at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and joked that he doesn’t know “if [anyone] should watch [their] father as Ken.” He added, “I don’t know what age is a good age to see your father do that. It gets pretty crazy.” 

“They’ve seen little parts of it, and they came to set one day when I did a big musical number,” Gosling shared. 

Gosling’s kids may have not seen Barbie, but the actor revealed he took on the role because they love the dolls. He wanted a “way to sort of make something both for and with them.”

“I knew that they loved it because they kept saying at first, ‘Hey, can we go to Target?’” Gosling explained. “And we go to Target, and then they’d slowly go by the Barbie aisle. And my wife and I sort of realized, ‘Okay, I think it’s time to let them have Barbies.’ And no interest in Ken, which was pretty interesting, too.”

Will Ryan Gosling Sing “I’m Just Ken” At The Oscars?

 The 96th annual Academy Awards are being held in March, and the nominees are being announced on January 23rd. A handful of shortlists have been released for various Academy Award categories, which narrows down some of the potential nominees. December saw the release of the shortlists for ten categories, including Best Original Song. According to the official website for the Oscars, 94 songs were eligible for the category, and it’s been narrowed down to 15. 

One of the songs on the list is “I’m Just Ken,” the musical number performed by Gosling in Barbie. It’s common for nominated songs to be performed during the Oscars ceremony, so many movie fans are wondering if Gosling will perform live if the song is officially nominated. During a recent interview with W Magazine, Gosling had a hilarious response when asked about singing at the Oscars. 

“Well, I haven’t been invited. And I wasn’t thinking about it until now, and now it’s all I’m going to think about,” Gosling shared. “Do you get paid to sing at the Oscars? Do you have to drive yourself? What kind of scratch is involved? They pick you up at least, right?” 

Barbie is now streaming on Max.