Ryan Gosling To Play Ken, Barbie Fans Call Him 'Too Old', 'Major Cringe'

The first look of Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie has been published by Warner Bros., and fans are divided. Gosling will play the renowned fashion-forward doll Ken in the upcoming film directed by Greta Gerwig, the director of Ladybird and Little Women.

Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Saoirse Ronan, and Will Ferrell star alongside Gosling in the film. The studio posted a snapshot of the actor in his new Ken look on Wednesday (June 15). The La La Land star flaunts bleach "blonde hair, a spray tan, and six-pack abs" in the photo. 

Ryan Gosling As Ken In Barbie

The portrait has split fans, with many claiming that the 41-year-old actor is too old to play the "legendary doll." Robbie, who plays Barbie, is 31 years old.

One Twitter user wrote, "I love Ryan Gosling, but 40-year-old Ken is insane. I’m sorry." Many fans also objected to the blonde spray tan as they found it too unreal to look good. Remarks like "too old" and "cringe" were used by fans in their tweet about the new Ken doll. A section of Twitter also defended the casting of Gosling as Ken and urged the critics to at least wait for the film to release before judging him.

The image of Ryan Gosling, who plays Barbie alongside Margot Robbie, is causing a visceral reaction among Gosling fans, cinephiles, and casual Twitter users. One of them said, "Ryan Gosling has to be the blandest white man ever so he’s a perfect Ken." It's the first official photo of Gosling as the toy aisle's most famous character.

According to the photo, Gosling has taken up the role of Ken: He has an “eight-pack of abs” and “bleached blond hair,” and his complexion is coloured orange. In front of a Pepto-Bismol pink backdrop, his bottom wears are printed with his own name, and he's wearing a sleeveless denim vest without a shirt. Ken, on the other hand, is a Malibu kid. 

"It comes with a lot of baggage!" Margot commented on the film in a 2021 interview with British Vogue. For her, there are a lot of nostalgic links as well, but this opens up a slew of new avenues to attack it. 

America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Will Ferrell, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Hari Nef, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, and Jamie Demetriou are among the Barbie cast members The film is currently being shot in London. 

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Gerwig has directed two films on her own, the coming-of-age dramas Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), both of which received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture. She was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for the former, and for Best Adapted Screenplay for the latter. In 2018, Gerwig was named to Time's annual list of the world's most influential people.

Feature Image Credit: Hindustan Times.