21 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About How These Celebs Were Cast In Greta Gerwig's "Barbie"
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There are some spoilers ahead for Barbie!
1.First, Margot Robbie's production company produced Barbie, so she never had to audition for the role. However, once she brought Greta Gerwig on as the writer/director, she "made it very clear to Greta" that she didn't have to star in the movie. Margot explained that she was just "very passionate" about making it as a producer.
2.Ryan Gosling was always who Greta and Margot envisioned playing Ken in Barbie. Greta revealed that after seeing Ryan in the "Guy Who Just Bought a Boat" sketch on Saturday Night Live, she knew that he was very comedic and would be perfect.
3.When America Ferrera was approached about Gloria, a main reason why she said yes was because it was written by Greta and Noah Baumbach, directed by Greta, and produced by Margot. "I read the script, and I was laughing on page one, then I was crying, and then I was laughing and crying," she said.
4.Ariana Greenblatt, who stars as Sasha, did a pretty standard Zoom audition with Greta and Margot. Reflecting on her audition, she said she was just trying to "cherish this moment forever." Ariana revealed she's idolized Margot since seeing her as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad.
5.Emma Mackey was cast as a Barbie because Greta and Margot thought it would be funny to have her in the movie after people continuously pointed out how similar Emma and Margot look in real life. Originally, there was even a joke written in about them looking alike.
6.Ncuti Gatwa originally auditioned for a different role in Barbie before landing the role of a Ken. During his first audition, he didn't have the full script or a synopsis and simply had one, out of context, scene. About a month later, he was brought back in to read for Ken.
7.Greta sent Kate McKinnon the script for Barbie hoping she would play Weird Barbie. Greta and Kate actually attended college together and were in an improv group.
8.A junior agent on Simu Liu's team spoke up during a meeting and told Simu, "If I could stake my career on any one script, it's the Barbie script. I really think you should do it." Then, Simu sent in a self-taped audition, and Greta requested to meet him.
9.Michael Cera was cast as Allan, arguably one of the best characters in Barbie, after Jonathan Groff turned down the role due to a scheduling conflict.
10.Greta pitched Issa Rae the idea for Barbie and wanted her to be in it, but at first, Issa was skeptical. Then, she read the script and was like, "Oh, I get it!" She added, "It's very funny, and it's just very specific to [Greta]."
11.Nicola Coughlan auditioned for Barbie in January 2022 while she was on vacation with friends. She recorded a self-tape wearing a hot pink dress she brought with her. Nicola revealed she's been desperate to work with Greta since seeing Frances Ha, which Greta wrote and starred in.
12.The older woman that Barbie says is beautiful is Academy Award-winning costume designer Ann Roth. Greta is friends with Ann and asked her to appear in this quick moment, and called her "a legend."
13.Kingsley Ben-Adir, who hadn't done a lot of comedy, was a surprise during the audition process. He reportedly showed a very "playful" side that surprised the casting directors and Greta.
14.Due to her busy schedule, Hari Nef nearly had to turn down the chance to star as a Barbie. However, she wrote Greta and Margot a letter about why the role was important to her and hoped that they could "fudge the schedule a little bit" so she could be in it.
15.During pre-production, both Greta and Margot hoped that Emerald Fennell would come play Midge. At the same time that Margot was coordinating Emerald to appear in Barbie, she was also working with Emerald on the upcoming movie Saltburn, which Emerald wrote and directed and Margot's production company produced.
16.Scott Evans never thought he'd actually get cast in Barbie, but he auditioned anyway and felt really confident during his first self-tape. Eventually, he got a call that Greta wanted to meet him over Zoom, and he said it immediately felt like talking with an old friend.
17.Rhea Perlman was reportedly on a short list of very few actors who were considered to play Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie.
18.Alexandra Shipp had an initial conversation with Greta about Barbie before she read for a role. Then, she was officially offered the part. Like most of the cast, she didn't know much about the movie when she signed on, only that Margot and Greta were attached.
19.John Cena's role as Mermaid Ken came about after he ran into Margot while filming Fast X, which filmed across the street from Barbie in London. John asked Margot if he could pop up in Barbie and was willing to do anything.
20.Love Island UK star Chris Taylor appears as a Ken who gives awards to other Kens when they take over Barbie Land. Chris landed the small cameo after he met Margot, who is a big fan of UK reality TV, at an afterparty for Birds of Prey.
21.And finally, all of the background actors in Barbie Land are professional dancers. Greta explained they cast dancers because they "hold themselves differently" than non-dancers. So, it added to Barbie feeling like a classic soundstage musical, like Singin' in the Rain, Oklahoma!, and more.
And, come hang out with everyone else who is screaming, crying, and throwing up about Barbie in BuzzFeed’s iOS app. Heck, even Allan is there.
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