Ryan Gosling Took Inspiration From A Classic Reality TV Show For His Role In Barbie

The "Barbie" movie, directed and co-written by Greta Gerwig, took the world by storm in 2023 — but the actor who played opposite Margot Robbie's Barbie almost didn't do it. Ryan Gosling was always Gerwig's number-one choice for the main Ken (proven by his character name in the screenplay, "Ken Ryan Gosling"). In Gosling's Variety interview published in February 2024, he explained that he had some other things going on and wasn't sure about it, but Gerwig and Robbie convinced him to take the role. "They had a vision for it. They believed it. And they believed I should do it more than I believed I shouldn't," Gosling said.

While building up the backstory for Gosling's character, one major inspiration for Ken was action star Sylvester Stallone. Gosling also embraced his fashionable side on the "Barbie" set, and he was ready to rock a mink fur jacket just like Stallone's for Ken. That clothing item helped Ken stand out in Barbieland, and the mink being an identifiable feature for Ken is similar to something that happens with contestants on the popular reality dating show "The Bachelorette."

"One guy's the guy that wears glasses," Gosling explained to Variety. "One guy has the one earring. If you were to challenge and do the same thing as that person, you'd be infringing on their identity, and so Ken's identity became the mink." It certainly helped set his Ken apart.

In his Variety interview, Ryan Gosling said he was an avid viewer of reality television and compared the Kens of Barbieland to men on "The Bachelorette." "It's not dissimilar, in the sense that they sit around idly waiting for the Bachelorette to acknowledge them," Gosling told the outlet. "And, yes, they have no attention outside of the attention she gives them."

Greta Gerwig confirmed Gosling's comparison between Ken and "The Bachelorette" contestants in an episode of the "SmartLess" podcast, hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. Gerwig told the story of picking Gosling as Ken before she even knew him. Then, she admitted her love for the reality dating show "Love is Blind." When Hayes mentioned "The Bachelor," Gerwig said she hadn't seen it but explained Gosling's thought process was similar.

"I'd never seen it but [Gosling] was like, 'Oh, Ken reminds me of the men on "The Bachelorette" when the woman isn't around,'" Gerwig said. "'They don't know what to do with themselves. ... They're doing push-ups and they kind of are competitive with each other.'" While recounting Gosling's analogy, Gerwig mentioned glasses-wearing as an example of an identifiable feature that a contestant might be territorial about — definitely not as cool as Ken's coat.

That competitive behavior from "The Bachelorette" contestants is indeed seen in "Barbie" when the different Kens interact, most notably when Ryan Gosling's Ken challenges Simu Liu's Ken to a "beach-off" fight. Season 20 of "The Bachelorette" had a special "Barbie Day" episode inspired by the movie, where 12 of the contestants fighting over Charity Lawson had to transform into Kens for a talent show. For that episode, Joey Graziadei (who became "The Bachelor" for Season 28) wore the bright, neon roller-blading outfit Gosling dons in the film — with the rollerblades included, of course!

In an Instagram post after that episode aired, Graziadei shared some photos from "Barbie Day" and captioned them, "I'm just stoked that I didn't take a spill on those rollerblades after a few tequila sodas. Same time next week?" He obviously liked that 'fit, because he didn't give it back.

For a Bachelor Nation interview, Graziadei was asked about something he kept from his "The Bachelorette" run. "My 'Barbie Day' outfit," Graziadei said. "It fits like a glove!" If they ever make a "Barbie" sequel, perhaps some Bachelor Nation stars like Graziadei should have Ken cameos.