Ryan Gosling reveals surprising reason he agreed to be Ken
The 'Drive' actor admits his first instinct was to turn down Ken in Barbie
Ryan Gosling has revealed he almost passed on one of his most iconic roles: Ken in Barbie.
In a March 2026 interview with Fuera de Foco, the 45-year-old actor admitted that his “first instinct” was not to accept the part in Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster.
“I think maybe Barbie,” Gosling said when asked if he had ever considered turning down a project.
He explained that seeing his daughters play with Barbie dolls inspired him to reconsider.
“I could see how much playing with Barbies was doing for my kids, you know, because they were able to act out stuff that was going in a larger world with their dolls. So it ended up being a way to process the world.”
Gosling added that Gerwig’s script captured similar ideas. “She was trying to take some of these larger ideas and use dolls to tell the story. And I just thought there was such an interesting marriage there.”
The Project Hail Mary star acknowledged that Ken’s role would be challenging, but ultimately decided the opportunity was worth it.
“Maybe my instinct was to say no, but I thought this is a good challenge,” he said.
Gosling’s performance as Ken earned widespread acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, cementing the role as a career-defining moment.