Simu Liu Says Barbie Is 'About Finding Your Inner Beauty': 'You Don't Have to Be Blonde, White'
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Jon Kopaloff/Getty Simu Liu
Barbie is boasting a valuable message about "inner beauty," according to Simu Liu.
The 33-year-old actor stars in Greta Gerwig's upcoming Margot Robbie-led film, based on the best-selling, iconic Mattel doll of the same name.
Speaking last month at the 20th Unforgettable Gala in Beverly Hills, California, Liu said Gerwig, 39, paid special attention to diversity and inclusivity when it came to casting for the film.
"I remember very clearly about some of our big intricate dance sequences. Greta was very, very conscientious about who she cast," he said, according to Vanity Fair.
To that end, "We were able to cast people of different shapes, sizes, differently abled, to all participate in this dance — all under this message of: You don't have to be blonde, white, or X, Y, Z in order to embody what it means to be a Barbie or a Ken," Liu continued.
He added, per VF, "It's really about finding you."
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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Simu Liu in Barbie (2023)
The Marvel star also spoke to PEOPLE at the event about his experience making the upcoming movie, which also stars Ryan Gosling as Ken opposite Robbie's Barbie.
"It was pretty much what you see in the trailer," he said of the movie's first teaser, which Warner Bros. dropped the day before. "I feel like you can kind of surmise what kind of experience we had filming it just by watching the trailer. It's so much fun."
"The dancing, the laughing, all of that. That was every single day for us on set. So now to finally see that in a work form is actually surreal because we just felt like we were having fun the whole time," Liu added.
"But I'm really excited for people to watch more. I think there will be one more trailer that comes out before the movie, but I think it's great to keep the audience guessing, and I can't wait for them to see," he said.
Narrated by Helen Mirren, the 74-second sneak peek is filmed in the style of 2001: A Space Odyssey, giving a nod to how Barbie first changed the landscape for toys in 1959. Dressed as the first Barbie, Robbie, 32, winks at the camera before teasing glimpses of the colorful movie.
In July, when PEOPLE asked Gosling, 42, what it was like to "break the internet" with playful online reactions to the first look at his portrayal of Ken, he joked, "Well, the internet has been trying to break me for years. It gave me no other choice."
He continued, "We've been having so much fun making this movie and it felt nice to see everyone else start having as much fun as we are. I can't wait for the film to come out and for that to continue."
Written by Gerwig and partner Noah Baumbach, the cast also includes Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera and America Ferrera.
Barbie parties into theaters July 21.
