Kate McKinnon didn't actually do those splits as Weird Barbie
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Barbie Land advisory: This article contains minor spoilers for Barbie.
While much of the Barbie attention has been on stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the real scene-stealer is Kate McKinnon's fake leg.
In a clever nod to the Mattel dolls' bendy limbs, McKinnon's "legs" are all over the place throughout the pastel pink film, whether she's doing the splits or casually resting one leg against the exterior of her eclectic and colorful dreamhouse. And while the Saturday Night Live alum excels at physical and slapstick comedy, she reveals that, no, she is not actually flexible enough to get in those positions or do cartwheels as the delightfully eccentric Weird Barbie.
"Can't do that," she quips while in conversation with director Greta Gerwig and her costars for EW's Around the Table (above). "So that was a fake leg, and a heavy one."
The secret to achieving those shots so McKinnon could retain her balance? No, not CGI, but holes carved into the walls and flooring, masterminded by production designer Sarah Greenwood.
Warner Bros. Pictures Kate McKinnon in 'Barbie'
"Sarah who did the set design was like, 'I've made all these holes in the wall where she can put her real leg in, and then we'll rig the other leg up,'" Gerwig explains. "It was like a practical effect." In one scene with Weird Barbie doing the splits, McKinnon's legs were hidden within a secret compartment while she had "two fake legs on the side," the director reveals.
It's during the chat that America Ferrera, who plays human Gloria, learns that her costar didn't actually do those acrobatic movements. Issa Rae, who plays Barbie Land president, gives McKinnon's convincing performance the presidential seal of approval: "Every single person asked if that was your leg, and so the way that you sold that, you should be proud," the Insecure star says.
As for crafting Weird Barbie's disheveled look, "every square millimeter was so finely considered," McKinnon says. With her unkempt, chopped-up hair and face marked by colorful squiggly lines, Weird Barbie represents all of the dolls who have been "played with too much" — and in some instances, mutilated by their humans. (Kids, man.) "There was so much philosophy and thought behind it," McKinnon says. With hair and makeup artist Ivana Primorac, "We talked a lot about what this sort of Barbie who had been played with and burned and drawn on would look like," McKinnon shares. "I just pulled a bunch of pictures off the internet. I think I typed in, like, 'effed up doll.'"
Warner Bros. Pictures Kate McKinnon in 'Barbie'
Many of these "effed up" dolls would typically end up naked, she explains, with their outfits strewn across the carpeted living room floor of homes across suburbia and apartment dwellings alike. But of course, McKinnon couldn't be nude, so the costume department, led by designer Jacqueline Durran, landed on a pink whimsical baby doll dress. One note she received from Gerwig was that nothing about Weird Barbie was dirty. "There's no dirt," McKinnon observes. "I thought I was in rags or something and you were like, 'No, it's elevated.'"
For more on Barbie Land's musical numbers, set design, and more, check out EW's full Around the Table with Gerwig and the cast below. Barbie is in theaters now.
These interviews were conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
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