From Barbie doll to action hero: Ryan Gosling is 'The Fall Guy'

It was only in March that Hollywood star Ryan Gosling made an iconic appearance at the Oscars performing the "Barbie" song "I'm just Ken."

Now, the 43-year-old has traded in his musical talents to portray a stuntman in the high-octane action comedy "The Fall Guy" alongside "Oppenheimer" star Emily Blunt.

In the blockbuster, Gosling embarks on a perilous quest to find a missing actor.

Director David Leitch ("Bullet Train", "Deadpool 2") drew inspiration for his new film from the 80s cult TV classic of the same name about stuntman and bounty hunter Colt Seavers (Lee Majors).

With many spectacular stunts, this Hollywood film is a tribute to all those who work on a film set, both in front of and behind the camera.

"We didn't start out to adapt the original in ... verbatim," Leitch tells dpa. For fans of the original series, however, the film has a few allusions in store.

"I think we really started out to make our own sort of interpretation of the modern sort of stunt man's story," he says.

Much of it is based on the collective experiences of making movies and being in the movie world for so long, he adds.

In the two-hour comedy, Colt (Gosling) has to track down a global action star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who has disappeared from a film set with a multi-million dollar budget.

The film is a sci-fi western, directed by Colt's ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno (Blunt).

While he tries to get her back, the secrets surrounding the main character become increasingly mysterious and Colt discovers a conspiracy.

Daredevil action sequences both on water and in the air

The elaborately staged stunts are definitely a highlight of the film, as is the banter between Gosling and Blunt as (former) lovers. The main actors leave the strongest impression, largely due to their on-screen chemistry.

While the concept of portraying filmmaking within a film isn't novel, its execution feels refreshingly original.

Numerous action scenes make up for the somewhat thin plot. The viewer is treated to stunts with overturning cars, explosions, a chase with a burning boat or a daring helicopter jump, all set to rocking guitar riffs.

Gosling executed some of how own stunts, including a daring fall from a 12-story building.

Often repeated in the movie are phrases like: "You're a stuntman. Nobody's gonna notice whether you're here or not. No offence."

Yet stunt people are the real heroes, Gosling said recently at the European premiere in Berlin. The film is a great opportunity to show their world, Gosling added.

Director Leitch used to work as a stuntman himself, and has worked as a double for Oscar winner Brad Pitt.

But: "The stunts that we did in 'The Fall Guy' ... far exceed anything I ever did in my career," says Leitch. "Stunt design is an essential part of cinema and has been around since the beginning of film."

A separate Oscar category for stunts?

It's not so much about stunt people wanting to be celebrated for their individual performances.

"I think we want to keep the illusion alive that the character is the character. And it maybe takes five people to make Colt Sievers this action character. That's okay," says the filmmaker.

"The Fall Guy" is more about celebrating the fact that stunt departments design and choreograph the sequences and that all trades are important for a film set - including costume and production design.

Starting in 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is planning to introduce a new Oscar category for casting merits. Leitch says he would also like to see a separate stunt category at the awards ceremony.

"Casting has sort of laid the way for how it can be done, and we're just following that path, and I think it's hopeful."