Everyone in the world was enamored by Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of beachy himbo Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, but imagine, for one moment, if that guy was your dad? It would probably alter the storytelling a little bit for you. Nobody wants to see their dad have an intense dance breakdown or wear a mink in times like these. It’s just too much!
This is more or less the reason why Gosling says his two young daughters, ages 7 and 9, haven’t seen the film, despite them being part of the reason he took on the role in the first place.
Gosling recently told E! that he doesn’t think his daughters, who he shares with actress Eva Mendes, will really want to see him as Ken. “I don’t know if you should watch your father as Ken,” he explained, adding, “I don’t know what age is a good age to see your father do that. It gets pretty crazy.” Seeing your father cry on Margot Robbie’s shoulders might actually be empowering to his daughters, but maybe that time will come later.
Even though they haven’t seen the film, Gosling previously claimed that his daughters seemed indifferent to him accepting the role. “I think they’re confused as to why I would want to play Ken. They have no use for Ken.” Still, they inspired him to accept the role after he had found a Ken doll face down in the dirt in his backyard.
Maybe they won’t see him as Ken, but surely he won’t mind them watching him do dangerous stunts over and over again in The Fall Guy.