Ryan Gosling’s daughters, whom he shares with fellow actor Eva Mendes, were apparently a bit confused about their father’s decision to play Ken in the upcoming “Barbie” movie.
Speaking with People ahead of the Los Angeles premiere of “Barbie” on Sunday, the actor explained that his kids were skeptical because they just aren’t that into the Ken doll.
“I think they’re confused as to why I would want to play Ken,” he said. “They have no use for Ken.”
Gosling said that he didn’t play with Barbie dolls growing up and that his daughters, Amada and Esmeralda, were the ones who introduced him to the brand. He noted that their familiarity with Barbie ultimately helped him film a scene in the movie that he didn’t go into much detail about.
“My kids were around for the months at home as I was prepping for it,” he said. “So they, inadvertently, were prepping for it too.”
He added, “And they came to set that day and were a huge sense of support and doing it with me off-camera.”
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Amada and Esmeralda’s skepticism about the Ken role isn’t the only time Gosling’s casting has come into question.
In May, Gosling responded to fans on social media who had criticized his casting for the role, telling GQ: “If people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with.”
“It is funny, this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken,” he later added. “Like you ever thought about Ken before this?”
Director Greta Gerwig, however, has made it clear that Gosling as Ken was the only Ken in her mind.
“Well, it was only ever Ryan Gosling, and it was a long journey,” she told Rolling Stone earlier this month. “Margot and I just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
She continued, “From the moment that Margot came to me and I knew we were making this for Margot, I equally knew we were making this for Ryan. And I did not know Ryan at all. I’d never met him. I just was sure, and as soon as I thought of it, it made me so happy. Who else could do this?”
“It’s some combination of Marlon Brando meets Gene Wilder meets John Barrymore meets John Travolta,” she added.
“Barbie,” which stars Margot Robbie in the titular role, hits theaters on July 21.