Ryan Gosling Fully Leans Into His Kenergy in ‘I’m Just Ken’ Behind-the-Scenes Footage

“I’m just Ken” should have been one of the most ridiculous moments in Barbie, but Ryan Gosling‘s commitment to the bit is Oscar-worthy. In an exclusive music video for the song, behind-the-scenes footage shows the actor undergoing the most unserious transformation of his career while director Greta Gerwig watches along starry-eyed and overwhelmingly proud of her creation.

In the clips captured during rehearsals, Gosling and his supporting cast of Kens — including Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and more — fully lean into their unhinged Kenergy. They lock in with choreographers and practice their movements over and over until it’s perfect, even if it’s only meant to result in a couple of seconds’ worth of footage. Standing next to Gerwig, Gosling checks and double-checks the best ways to bring her vision to life.

All the while, top-tier musicians pull the song together in the studio. The Offspring’s Josh Freese is on drums, Slash is manning a rhythm guitar, and Gosling is delivering the most passionate vocal performance of his career. The whole ensemble is a match made in Barbie Land.

“You really fall in love with this hapless, but immediately sympathetic figure,” Ronson told Vanity Fair about Gosling’s Ken. “I instantly had this idea for this lyric: ‘I’m just Ken / Anywhere else I’d be a 10.’ It just seemed funny. It felt a little bit emo, like, this poor guy. He’s so hot, but can’t get the time of day.”

For Gerwig, Gosling was the first and only choice for the leader of the Kens. “Margot and I just wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she told Rolling Stone earlier this summer. “From the moment that Margot came to me and I knew we were making this for Margot, I equally knew we were making this for Ryan. And I did not know Ryan at all. I’d never met him. I just was sure, and as soon as I thought of it, it made me so happy.”

“His comedy goes back to taking it incredibly seriously as an actor, where he never is doing it just for the laugh. And the way we talked about Ken was as in-depth character work as I’ve ever done with anyone about anything,” Gerwig added. “I’m like, if what actors do is perform empathetic acts for our benefit, I don’t know that anyone has ever invested more in making people understand the plight of this man. It was extraordinary. I felt with both of them that I might direct movies for a long time and never see anything that uniquely and gloriously unhinged.”

From Rolling Stone US.