Someone once famously told Ryan Gosling, “Seriously? It’s like you’re Photoshopped,” which seems to be the direct inspiration for his role as Ken in the upcoming Barbie movie.
In the abs-forward first look of the actor in director Greta Gerwig’s live-action take on the iconic Mattel figure, Ryan embodies the plastic hunk in his full glory.
Sporting bleached blonder than blond hair, presumably buckets of spray tan lotion and his own personalised “Ken” underwear, the star leans into the fantasy in an image shared on Wednesday by Warner Bros.
In the photo, Ryan ever so suavely poses against a signature Barbie pink backdrop with his muscles busting out of a denim ensemble, which includes a ripped vest and matching jeans.
The photo serves as the perfect complement to the first look at Margot Robbie as the titular doll released in April.
If placed side-by-side, the famous couple could even be looking at each other, given the similar colour palettes and coordinating outfits. Margot, who is perched in the seat of a pink Chevrolet Corvette convertible in the photo, however, looks a bit more ’60s inspired, while Ryan could be lifted directly out of a ’90s Marky Mark-style underwear campaign.
Apart from Margot and Ryan, the film will star Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, Ncuti Gatwa, Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, Issa Rae and Hari Nef. Written by Gerwig and partner Noah Baumbach, Barbie is set to hit cinemas July 21, 2023.
Details on the plot of the film remain scarce, but according to New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan, the project will feature multiple versions of Barbie and Ken.
Last month, Liu teased what fans might expect from the script, which an agent described as “one of the best” he had ever read.
“He literally said this verbatim,” the “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” star told GQ. “He was like, ‘If I could stake my career on any one script, it’s the Barbie script. I really think you should do it.’”
Robbie has also dropped some hints about the film’s approach to the character. Back in 2020, the actor and producer remarked on the responsibility she feels to do right by Barbie’s legacy and subvert audiences’ expectations surrounding her casting.
“People immediately have an idea of, ‘Oh, Margot is playing Barbie, I know what that is.’” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “But our goal is to be like, ‘Whatever you’re thinking, we’re going to give you something totally different — the thing you didn’t know you wanted.’”
Ryan, meanwhile, will next be seen in Netflix’s mega-expensive action thriller The Gray Man opposite Chris Evans, who surely in some alternate universe would fill out Ken’s cut-off denim vest quite nicely.