Ryan Gosling addresses Barbie critics who 'never cared' about Ken before calling him too old to play character

Ryan Gosling's plastic doesn't crack — even under the pressure of Gen Z critics who think the actor is too old to play Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie.

The 42-year-old Oscar nominee has addressed pushback claiming that he's too physically mature to portray the role of the hunky doll opposite Margot Robbie's titular Barbie in the upcoming summer blockbuster based on Mattel's line of toys.

"I would say, you know, if people don't want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with," he said in a new interview with GQ, referring to Gerwig's decision to cast multiple actors as different versions of Ken in the film, including Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, John Cena, and more.

"It is funny, this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this?" Gosling continued. "And everyone was fine with that, for him to have a job that is nothing. But suddenly, it's like, 'No, we've cared about Ken this whole time.' No, you didn't. You never did. You never cared. Barbie never f---ed with Ken. That's the point. If you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed. This is why his story must be told."

Gosling concluded by admitting that he does indeed "care about this dude now" and feels like the doll's "representative" while promoting the project. "Ken couldn't show up to receive this award," he said, "so I'm here to accept it for him."

Gerwig's Barbie script — cowritten with her partner, Noah Baumbach — is both a satirical and earnest take on the Barbie legacy, following Robbie as the globally renowned doll who, along with Gosling's Ken, travels from the fantastical Barbie Land to the real world and must learn how to adjust once they're there.

Barbie — also starring Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, pop star Dua Lipa, and Will Ferrell — opens July 21 in theaters.

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