Ryan Gosling has revealed why his daughters haven’t seen Barbie

Margot Robbie stars in Barbie movie
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Barbie is undoubtedly the film of the past year, literally breaking box office records. 

And as the iconic feminist blockbuster dominates award season - seeing big wins at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, the star-studded movie is all anyone can talk about. 

This is particularly true for Ryan Gosling, the film's leading Ken, who has made non-stop headlines from his sweet words about Eva Mendes to his meme-worthy reaction to 'I'm Just Ken' winning 'Best Song' at the Critics' Choice Awards.

It was his words about his daughters that got the world talking this week, as Gosling confirmed that his children, Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 7, had not yet seen the iconic movie - and his reasoning is hilarious.

"I don’t know if you should watch your father as Ken," Gosling explained in an interview with E! News at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. “I don’t know what age is a good age to see your father do that. It gets pretty crazy."

Gosling did explain however that his daughters had seen part of his performance, even visiting him on set with Eva Mendes for the filming of 'I'm Just Ken'.

“They’ve seen little parts of it," he explained. "And they came to set one day when I did a big musical number.

“[It] was a way to sort of make something both for and with them,” he later said. “I knew that they loved it because they kept saying at first, ‘Hey, can we go to Target?’ And then we’d go to Target, and they’d slowly go by the Barbie aisle...but [they had] no interest in Ken, which was pretty interesting.”

Ryan Gosling playing Ken in Barbie (2023)

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Later that evening, Gosling made a rare comment about Eva and their daughters on stage, as he was honoured with the prestigious Kirk Douglas Award for excellence in film.

"I, for one, have been so lucky. I’ve gotten to go to the moon, be a motorcycle bank robber, a getaway driver, waltz through the stars, be an elementary school teacher - albeit a crack-addicted one - become a replicant from the future, a gangster from the past, a lovelorn stunt man, and most recently, thanks to Greta, a 70-year-old crotchless doll," he told the audience.

"Most importantly, I got to meet the girl of my dreams, Eva Mendes, and have two dream children. I dreamed of one day making movies, and now, movies have made my life a dream."

Well, that's that.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.