Previously, Ken had 3 body types, 18 heights, 13 skin tones, 10 eye colors, 27 hair colors, and 20 different hairstyles. Starting today, we need to add a digit to all of these variables. The first image of Ryan Gosling as Barbie’s longtime friend in the live-action film about Mattel’s famous doll has been revealed.
In the snap, Gosling, 41, can be seen in the skin — or plastic — of Ken. He sports a peroxide blonde, spray-on tan and sculpted abs. A mischievous smile hangs from his face and a pair of underpants with his name on them hangs tightly around his waist. This is the second official image beyond the long-awaited project. The first was released last April and featured Margot Robbie (31 years old) in the pink convertible of the famous doll she will bring to life. In addition to the above actors, Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, Michael Cera and Kate McKinnon complete the cast.
But the film sparked interest not so much in who is in front of the camera as it was in who was behind it. Celebrated director Greta Gerwig, author of Lady Bird or the latest version of Little Women, is directing Barbie and co-signing the screenplay with her partner, screenwriter Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story). “People hear ‘Barbie’ and think they know what the movie is going to be. Then they hear that it’s Greta Gerwig who is writing and directing, and then they think maybe it’s not what it first seems,” Margot Robbie commented to British Vogue last August.
This odd naming combination has made a cursed project (it’s been at Hollywood studios since 2014) one of the most anticipated films of 2023 when it hits theaters. No details of his reasoning have been released.
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This isn’t the toy couple’s first film appearance. Barbie broke into Toy Story 2 and expanded her role in the third part of the Pixar series, where she already shared the screen with Ken, who has been her partner since 1961 (with his comings and goings, like everyone else).
Ken appeared out of nowhere as Barbie’s boyfriend. They met on a TV while filming an ad, according to canon created by the toy company Mattel. Back then he was a dark boy (there was soon a blonde version), lanky and stubborn. His skin looked several Pantone shades below his current one, but the doll came with a towel, swimsuit and flip-flops, so he wanted to at least get a tan.
Over those six decades, Ken has changed a lot to fit the ideal of beauty of the era. He’s built muscle and grown his hair. It has become a fashion icon and a reference for the gay community. It became blonder, darker, and then atomized into dozens of different kens to represent a more heterogeneous world. The easiest way to analyze the prevailing canon of male beauty is to look at this 12 inch doll. However, the Ken that Gosling represents respects canon and fulfills the image that the general public has in mind. Whether Gerwig’s film does the same remains to be seen.