Ryan Gosling Shares the Peculiar Reason He Agreed to Play Ken in ‘Barbie' Movie

As it turns out, a love for denim jackets is not the reason actor Ryan Gosling agreed to play Ken in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie."

Gosling appeared on a segment of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Thursday, speaking to the host about his "Barbie" origin story.

Although Fallon pointed to a Vanity Fair article highlighting Gosling's love for jean jackets over the years as an indicator of why he chose to play Ken, the actor had a different answer.

After receiving the offer to play Ken from Gerwig, Gosling said he walked out into his backyard to find a peculiar sight.

"I walk out in the backyard, and do you know where I found Ken, Jimmy?" Gosling asked. "Facedown in the mud next to a squished lemon."

The pair joked that this picture was a sign the actor must play Ken in the movie, which he said was the "best script I've ever read."

"I texted (the picture) to Greta and I said, 'I shall be your Ken, for his story must be told,'" Gosling said.

The cast of the "Barbie" movie includes other well-known names like Margot Robbie, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae and more. The movie is set to premiere next summer, and the official plot details are still under wraps. But some early tease pictures have revealed some aspects of the movie, including Gosling's bleached blonde hair and boy-band look.

The picture "broke the internet," as Fallon told Gosling, with fans loving the actor's Ken energy. But Gosling said the internet reaction surprised him.

"I was surprised by how, you know, some people were kind of clutching their pearls about my Ken as if they ever thought about Ken for a second before this," Gosling joked. "They never played with Ken!"

But while Gosling has made his opinion on where Ken stands in the official "Barbie" rankings — "an accessory, and not even one of the cool ones" — early internet reactions to the teases are clear indicators of how excited viewers are to see Gosling star in the iconic movie.

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