Ryan Gosling Calls Barbie “Best Script I’ve Ever Read”

Ryan Gosling has been having a bit of a resurgence in his acting career, most recently starring in the Russo Brothers helmed The Gray Man. Gosling signed on to join Margot Robbie in Warner Bros. upcoming Barbie film, and it recently began filming. Everything we’ve seen from the film so far seems pretty hilarious as well as very colorful. The actor has been pretty coy on his role as Ken, but now he’s starting to open up on the movie. While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday night, Gosling revealed that Barbie has the “best script I’ve ever read.”

That seems like high praise for a movie that focuses on a live-action version of one of the most popular toys in history. Apparently, Gosling was a little bit apprehensive and had to think about signing on to play Ken. He went into his backyard, where he saw a Ken doll lying in the mud next to a severely squished melon and took a photo of the occurrence. The actor then sent the photo to director Greta Gerwig with the message “I shall be your Ken. For his story must be told.”

“This has been coming my whole life,” Gosling jokingly revealed to Variety that he hopes for all Ken’s to feel seen after watching Barbie. “I think a lot of Kens will feel seen when they see this. Gotta do it for the Kens of the world. Nobody plays with Kens!”

Barbie will be directed by Gerwig, with a script from her and Noah Baumbach. Margot Robbie, who had been rumored to be attached to the project since 2018, will also be producing the project through her LuckyChap banner. The cast of the film will also include America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, and Jamie Demetriou.

“Barbie is one of the most iconic franchises in the world and we are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures and Margot Robbie to bring her to life on the big screen,” Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said at the time. “We look forward to building on this collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures as we tell the stories of our beloved brands. Mattel Films is on a path to demonstrate the enormous potential of our brand portfolio, as we continue to execute on our strategy of transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high performing toy company.”

“Playing with Barbie promotes confidence, curiosity and communication throughout a child’s journey to self-discovery,” Robbie said in a press release at the time of the announcement. “Over the brand’s almost 60 years, Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president.”

Barbie will be released exclusively in theaters on July 21, 2023.