We've seen Barbie Ferreira play the wry, fan fiction-writing Kat in Euphoria, but in HBO Max's new movie Unpregnant, we get to see Barbie lean even further into her natural comedic timing.
In the film, out September 10, she plays Bailey, a quick-witted outcast who reunites with her pregnant ex-best friend Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson) for a three-day trek across the country to get an abortion. Car chases, new crushes, and mended friendships ensue.
As Bailey, Barbie gives the movie much of its teen comedy lightness (and some incredible deadpan one-liners). Whether she's working up the nerve to speak to her crush (played by Betty Who) or rolling around in the dirt Revenant style, she's fully committed to Unpregnant's many great bits — and a delight to watch onscreen.
In a video chat with Teen Vogue, Barbie opened up about how the movie explores access to abortion, how she learned Klingon, and what it would be like to see Lizzo in Euphoria season 2.
Teen Vogue: Obviously Unpregnant is a very real story about abortion and access to healthcare, but it's also like a fun, buddy comedy. What was it like getting to kind of stretch your comedy muscles?
BF: Yeah, I wanted something challenging after Euphoria. I wanted something that was completely different and still kind of stayed in the same realm of [having] a message, something that hasn't been done before. And I think being comedic was actually extremely challenging for me. I'm naturally kind of a goofy person, but that doesn't really count when you're in front of the camera for some reason. Because my personality is so big, when I'm playing a character, I like to completely rein it in or figure out something else. With Bailey, I had to really show my bubbliness in a different way and mold it to her. And like, I got to play a lot, which was cool.
TV: How did you develop your rapport with Haley?
BF: Well, it naturally came. Haley and I are really high energy, really chaotic, goofy people. So it just immediately... That wasn't even like we have to do any bonding exercises, it was literally like we just immediately started goofing off and being crazy and probably annoying a lot of people. But the vibes were there.
TV: Were there any scenes you remember being especially fun to film? How much did you get to be involved with the stunts in the escape scene?
BF: Oh yes. There's one part where we're jumping out of the car and I had to do the stunt. And I actually [got down in the] dirt with spiders everywhere. And I was just rolling around in the dirt to make myself dirtier. And everyone's like, “Why are you doing that? We have fake dirt.” And I'm like, "Oh my God, I'm sorry. I thought I was in The Revenant and it's snow and I'm like, “I will put dirt on my face to show that I've jumped out of the car.” It's really silly. But those [fun] scenes were always us running away. Although that was a lot of cardio, which is hardio, so...
TV: That's real. Your scenes with Betty Who, who plays your love interest in the movie, were very fun. What was it like working with her?
BF: She's great. And she was exactly what I think Bailey's type would be, just like bad*ss, truck driver, race car driving, helmet off, tattoos, it just was like I got to really play up the fan girl that has always been in me for many years. I had to be like, “Okay, Betty Who is my One Direction.” It was so fun.
TV: I love that you guys get that kind of slow motion crush scene. Were you thinking of other romantic comedies when you were filming that?
BF: I don't really remember referencing a lot of rom-coms directly, maybe subconsciously I had Never Been Kissed inside. But I just wanted it to feel like Bailey was like caught off guard, which is really rare for her, because the whole movie she's quick-witted, and she's always had something to say and is always a little bit of a know-it-all.
TV: One of my favorite scenes is when Haley's character is leaning out the window, screaming and debunking abortion myths. How did you feel about the way the movie inserts real facts about abortion amid this comedic setup?
BF: I think there's a lot of education in it, and this movie is really for young adults and obviously for everyone, but I think it's really educational for people who maybe don't really have an idea of how abortions work and what happens when you walk into an abortion clinic. I think this movie just does a really good job of teaching that… all these things that we hear all the time are kind of all myths and scare and fear tactics, made by people with no uteruses.
TV: Were there things that you learned about abortion or access to healthcare that you maybe didn't know before?
BF: I grew up in New York, so I always had access to Planned Parenthood or reproductive health clinics, even if like, let's say you don't really want to talk to your parents about getting birth control, there was Planned Parenthoods around and you could go and have the autonomy over your own body and go and grab it. I always lose sight that in a lot of states, and in a lot of places, that's not the case, and that there's this scary idea that Planned Parenthood and all these amazing health and reproductive health facilities are these scary abortion clinics. When in reality, most people go to those to get tested, to get hormones, to just get checked out. And even though they are performing abortions, that seems to be the only thing that people focus on. That Veronica had to go like 900 and whatever miles to access one without parental consent is just really mind boggling because that's a journey. How many obstacles does someone have to go to get a safe and legal abortion, when that should be a human right?
TV: Right. Like she ends up in so much extra danger that she should not have had to go through.
BF: Too much, girl, too much.
TV: There's that line where Veronica says she's not the type of person to get an abortion, and Bailey really quickly shuts that down. Why do you think it's important to break down those stereotypes?
BF: That was actually one of my favorite lines in the whole movie: "Veronica, you're exactly the kind of person who gets an abortion." The thing is that because there haven't been a lot of stories told in the mainstream and a lot of lies are out there, people tend to think that people who have abortions are bad people. They're irresponsible, or they look a certain way or they're into certain things. That's absolutely not true. Even if you use all the birth control, if you're having sex with a penis in a vagina, you can get pregnant. It's something that could literally happen to anybody who is partaking in those sexual activities … Abortions should be accessible for anybody.
TV: You talked about making projects that have a message, but that also challenge you. You have Unpregnant and Euphoria — how are you thinking about the kinds of roles you want to take on next?
BF: I think I want to step outside of the high school kind of thing, just because I feel like I've done it a couple of times, just to explore other things. I want to do a movie that's completely different than what I've done, whether that be like sci-fi or horror or thriller. I mean, I really am personally into psychological thrillers and horror a lot. I would love to be in a really good project that's really great and has great people behind it. I'm open to a lot of things, but I do want to explore things outside of playing a high schooler. I feel like I've done that a couple of times and I'm going to continue doing it on Euphoria. So it'll be interesting to see what's next.
TV: I saw your comment about Lizzo's unofficial audition for Euphoria. What would it be like if Lizzo was on the show?
BF: I mean, oh my gosh, first of all, I'd just be like [makes hand emoji of two fingers touching] all day just [makes hand emoji of two fingers touching]. I think Lizzo is so powerful and she makes me so happy every day. I think that I would die, I don't even know what I would do. I'd just be like, "Hi Lizzo! I'm so shy!" That would be incredible. If I was casting, I'd be like, "You're hired."
Let us slide into your DMs. Sign up for the Teen Vogue daily email.
Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: