Ryan Gosling teases potential 2024 Oscar performance of I’m Just Ken
The Kenergy is still very much giving in 2024. It’s no surprise that Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of Ken pretty much broke the internet last year, and as much as I hate to generally support men, you have to admit that his delivery was pretty much perfect.
Barbie was a massive commercial success, making over $775 million globally in ticket sales and further cementing Greta Gerwig’s abilities as a Hollywood blockbuster director. Barbie was so popular it even helped raise Barbie manufacturers Mattel’s shares by an insane 17 per cent.
And when it comes to critical acclaim, the movie also swept in that category. The film received nine Golden Globe nominations including Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Motion Picture and individual nominations for both Gosling and our very own Barbie, Margot Robbie.
In the Best Original Song category alone, the film received three nominations, including one for ‘I’m Just Ken’.
In a recent interview with W, Gosling touched upon how Ken was actually his hardest role to date. When asked about what his first impression was of the iconic character, Gosling noted: “It was the title page of the script, which said ‘Barbie and Ken’, but ‘and Ken’ was scratched out. And the next impression was, this is the hardest part I’ll ever play.”
“How do you approach playing a 70-year-old crotchless doll?” the actor continued. “There’s no research you can do for that. There’s no one you can shadow, no documentaries you can watch, no books written about Ken. You’re on your own.”
The interviewer then moved on to the prospect of Gosling performing his role’s titular track ‘I’m Just Ken’ at the 2024 Oscars ceremony—imagine how iconic that would be. In the most Canadian answer ever, Gosling responded: “Well, I haven’t been invited. And I wasn’t thinking about it until now, and now it’s all I’m going to think about. Do you get paid to sing at the Oscars? Do you have to drive yourself? What kind of scratch is involved? They pick you up at least, right? What is your go-to karaoke song? I don’t have one. I only sing at the Oscars… Oh no, wait, I don’t.”
For anyone who hasn’t heard the song, where have you been? I’m pretty sure I even saw the hit make it into some Gen Zers’ Spotify Wrapped.
And you know what was even sweeter? The fact that Gosling and producer Mark Ronson released a special Christmas edition of the song:
The 2024 Oscars ceremony will take place on 10 March, so there’s more than enough time to convince both Gosling and the Academy Awards that ‘I’m Just Ken’ must be performed during the ceremony.
