Ryan Gosling Reveals Shocking Way Daughters' Ken Doll 'Died': 'Ken’s Dead!’
Ryan Gosling gave an update on the funny anecdote he previously shared about one of his daughters' Ken dolls.
Before finally agreeing to director Greta Gerwig's offer to star in the "Barbie" movie as Ken in 2022, the Canadian actor found one of his daughters' Ken dolls face down in the dirt and wearing only neon shorts, next to a squished lemon.
More than a year later, Gosling gave an update on his daughters' Ken doll during an interview with Variety. According to the Hollywood actor, he found out through his daughters Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 7, that the Ken doll had died.
Ryan Gosling says when he was offered the role of Ken in ‘BARBIE’ “I walk out in the backyard and, do you know where I found Ken? Face down in the mud next to a squished lemon.”
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 22, 2022
Gosling sent the photo to Greta Gerwig saying, “I shall be your Ken, for this story must be told.” pic.twitter.com/ACUQ2p07QT
When the "Barbie" actor spotted the Ken doll in his home once again, it was dressed in a sleeveless tuxedo.
Asking his daughters what happened to Ken, they responded, "Oh, he died of armpit arthritis. Ken's dead!"
"And I was like, 'Well, at least he's face up and wearing clothes.' I feel like he was a little better off than where I found him," he quipped.
Meanwhile, despite describing his role as Ken as "the hardest role" he has ever played that he even turned down the offer initially, Gosling landed an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of the male doll.
The star of the upcoming movie "The Fall Guy" initially refused the offer to play Ken due to scheduling conflicts.
"There was a question of his schedule, but I just knew it had to be him," the "Barbie" director, Gerwig, said.
She added, "I think at one point, I told him that I'd seen the future and that he was in it, and he was Ken. That made him laugh, but I think he also secretly saw the same future."
Once Gosling agreed to be Ken, the actor went to "startling lengths" to figure out who the character was. He told the magazine that "he dug through" his own life as a child performer who sang at weddings "for approval."
The "La La Land" star also started brainstorming with Gerwig about the origins of Ken after accepting the role.
He shared that their initial exchanges were about how Ken's Instagram would look like, finding inspiration from his parents' Muscle & Fitness magazine from the 90s, his and Gerwig's mutual love for 80s Sylvester Stallone and "The Bachelorette."
