\n<\/p>\n
In the weeks leading up to the\u00a0long-awaited\u00a0Barbie<\/em>\u00a0movie<\/a>,\u00a0Ryan Gosling<\/strong>\u00a0has been injecting a lot of\u00a0Ken-ergy<\/a> into the atmosphere. After tagging alongside\u00a0Margot Robbie<\/strong>\u2019s Barbie<\/a> on her adventure into the real world during\u00a0the latest\u00a0Barbie<\/em>\u00a0trailer<\/a>, the actor is officially stumping for his often sidelined character.<\/p>\n A father to two daughters with\u00a0Eva Mendes<\/strong>, Gosling partially credited his children for sparking his interest in channeling Ken. \u201cI did see him, like, face down in the mud outside one day, next to a squished lemon,\u201d Gosling says of the doll in his new\u00a0GQ<\/em>\u00a0cover story<\/a>, \u201cand it was like,\u00a0This guy\u2019s story does need to be told,<\/em> you know?\u201d At another point in the piece, he declares: \u201cKen, his job is\u00a0beach.<\/em> For 60 years, his job has been beach. What the fuck does that even mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gosling, who says Ken\u2019s characterization is also an homage to his younger self, also addresses the debate over whether at 42, he\u2019s\u00a0too old to play Ken<\/a>. \u201cI would say, you know, if people don\u2019t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with,\u201d he says to\u00a0GQ<\/em>, referencing the other versions of Ken in\u00a0Greta Gerwig<\/strong>\u2019s live-action blockbuster (played by\u00a0Simu Liu<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Ncuti Gatwa<\/strong>, among others). \u201cIt is funny,\u201d Gosling continues, \u201cthis kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Discourse over the doll evidently evokes an impassioned response from the actor. \u201cAnd everyone was fine with that, for him to have a job that is nothing. But suddenly, it\u2019s like, \u2018No, we\u2019ve cared about Ken this whole time.\u2019 No, you didn\u2019t. You never did. You never cared. Barbie never fucked with Ken. That\u2019s the point. If you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed. This is why his story must be told.\u201d<\/p>\n Laughing to the outlet, Gosling concludes, \u201cI care about this dude now. I\u2019m like his representative. \u2018Ken couldn\u2019t show up to receive this award, so I\u2019m here to accept it for him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, Barbie is also very much on Ken\u2019s side. Robbie recently told\u00a0British Vogue<\/em><\/a> that Ken is \u201cthe greatest version of Ryan Gosling ever put on screen,\u201d while Gerwig teased an existential arc for the plastic himbo. \u201cThe Kens have a journey in front of them,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn the beginning of the movie, nobody thinks about Ken. Nobody worries about Ken. Ken doesn\u2019t have a house. Or a car. Or a job. Or any power. And, um, that is gonna be sort of unsustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n