Ryan Gosling revealed he seriously considered turning down one of his most iconic roles.
In a March 2026 interview with Fuera de Foco, the Barbie star was asked whether he ever considered turning down a project or needed persuasion to take on a role that ultimately became transformative.
"I think maybe Barbie," replied Gosling.
He admitted his “first instinct” wasn’t to do Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, but was inspired to play Ken after seeing his daughters with Barbie dolls.
"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," said the Project Hail Mary star in the March 2026 interview.
He added, "And I think that's what Greta was doing in the script. 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."
Sharing his thoughts on Ken's role, he said he realized that his role was "going to be hard to do," he wanted to be a part of the movie.
"Maybe my instinct was to say no, but I thought this is a good challenge," continued the 45-year-old actor.
Ryan Gosling’s performance as Ken in the 2023 film Barbie is widely considered a career-defining role, earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
