Ryan Gosling Refused To Shave Legs Or Enter ‘Shave Room’ For Barbie Role

Ryan Gosling has admitted there were certain sacrifices he was unwilling to make for his part as a living Ken doll.

Last week, the Canadian star was asked about his role in the 2023 movie Barbie during an interview with Radio 1, where he said that he “didn’t even shave my legs” to help him get into character as Ken.

“There was a shave room on Barbie that I never went in,” he claimed, noting that while co-stars Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa were among its patrons, he never partook himself.

Ryan recalled: “Oh my god, you could hear the screaming down the hall. It was like a torture chamber. It was just like… howling!”

“I went the other way,” he continued. “I just never went in the shave room. What a name! And the sounds that came out of it I’ll never unhear.”

Despite his reluctance to suffer for his art, Ryan won widespread acclaim for his performance as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s movie.

He racked up nominations at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Baftas and Screen Actors Guild Awards (as they were then still known) before being shortlisted in the Best Supporting Actor category at the Oscars, one of eight nods for the movie which notably didn’t include Best Actress recognition for its lead, Margot Robbie.

As well as his acting work in the film, Ryan also led Barbie’s grand musical number I’m Just Ken, which earned a Best Original Song nod at the Oscars that year, with the La La Land star also performing the track live at that year’s Academy Awards ceremony.

Ryan can currently be seen as the lead in the new sci-fi adventure Project Hail Mary, which has so far proved to be a glowing hit with both viewers and critics.