Ryan Gosling really committed to the Kenergy while he made and promoted Barbie. In fact, he got an Oscar nomination (and one epic Oscar performance) because of it. However, it turns out that the commitment to Ken had to have some boundaries. In the case of the actor, it had to do with the “shave room” that was available on set for the Kens. While it was there for them to use, he was adamant that he didn’t want to use it.
Now, there was already a lot of lore surrounding the Kens shaving and waxing for Barbie, because, as you know, Kens don’t have body hair. Ryan Gosling just added a crazy fact to this already wild topic by telling BBC Radio One that he did not shave his legs for Greta Gerwig’s movie:
I didn’t even shave my legs.
Well, while he didn’t shave his legs, there was a room set up for it. Revealing that fact, the Project Hail Mary actor said:
There was a shave room on Barbie that I never went in.
I don’t know if he didn’t shave, shaved at home or decided to wax. However, I DO know that Ryan Gosling did not use that shave room.
Considering the tales of the Kens waxing for this movie, I have to wonder how often the room was used by them, too. I mean, Simu Liu got real about the struggles of waxing to play Ken, and he revealed that Kingsley Ben-Adir was the only Ken who didn’t wax. So, maybe he had to use the shave room.
According to Gosling, those who did use it did not have fun. As the interviewer named some of his co-stars who may have had to use it, The Nice Guys star said:
Oh my god, you could hear the screaming down the hall; it was like a torture chamber. It was just like howling.
Considering how dramatic the Kens can be, I can imagine the noises he was joking about here. However, the comments about the shave room didn’t stop there. Oh, no, continuing to add to his explanation of it, Gosling said:
I went the other way. It’s like – I just never – I never went in the shave room. The Shave Room, what a name, and the sounds that came out of it, I’ll never unhear.
Now, I couldn’t tell you if Gosling is joking or if he’s serious. However, I do fully believe that there was a shave room on Barbie. From the sets to the clothes to the way people held themselves, everyone really committed to making this world of dolls. So, yes, that means the guys had to shave and wax so they could play Kens. Although apparently, that does not mean they all used the shave room.
So, with all that being said, I think it’s time for a rewatch of this hit 2023 movie (which you can do with an HBO Max subscription). As the best Barbie quotes and this story prove, it’s a masterful, smart and silly film that features a lot of actors fully transforming into Barbies and Kens. However, make sure you remember when you see Ryan Gosling’s Ken that he did not and would not use that shave room.
