Ryan Gosling was one of the many to pick up a 2024 Oscar nomination, as he earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his performance as Ken in the critically lauded Barbie. The star has received massive acclaim for his turn as the chiselled and misunderstood doll. With that, a number of notable names have been weighing in on his work and providing honest thoughts. The latest to do so is Denis Villeneuve, who notably directed the leading man in Blade Runner 2049. The filmmaker caught up with our own ReelBlend podcast, during which he reviewedGosling’s performance and recalled how he was funny while they made the sci-fi epic.
The Canadian actor’s turn as hardened replicant K in Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 flick is a far cry from the campy and heartfelt turn he gives as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s fantasy film. Of course, Ryan Gosling was able to pull off both flawlessly, though some may have wondered whether Denis Villeneuve thought he had the latter performance in him. Well, after our own Sean O’Connell asked for his thoughts on Gosling’s work, the French-Canadian auteur dropped some highly positive sentiments on Gosling's role as Ken. Not only that, but he also explained why Gosling’s comedic sensibilities in the blockbuster aren’t all that shocking to him:
The Canadian actor’s turn as hardened replicant K in Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 flick is a far cry from the campy and heartfelt turn he gives as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s fantasy film. Of course, Ryan Gosling was able to pull off both flawlessly, though some may have wondered whether Denis Villeneuve thought he had the latter performance in him. Well, after our own Sean O’Connell asked for his thoughts on Gosling’s work, the French-Canadian auteur dropped some highly positive sentiments on Gosling's role as Ken. Not only that, but he also explained why Gosling’s comedic sensibilities in the blockbuster aren’t all that shocking to him:
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00:00Ryan Gosling, who you worked with on Blade Runner 2049, is up for an Oscar for a role that's so
00:04completely different than the part that you worked on, which is Ken in Barbie. And we're learning
00:10now that he's theoretically going to sing I'm Just Ken at the Oscars. And I think it reminds
00:16people about Ryan's range. And I wanted to, A, get your opinion if you've even seen the performance,
00:21and B, just talk about him as a performer based on what you know from experience,
00:26and then to see him take a 180 or 360 even and go in such a different direction like this.
00:32I love when actors do that. I love when they are taking a risk. And honestly,
00:37Ryan is a comical genius. He has really, I don't remember, nice guys, the backroom scene.
00:44He has like an incredible sense of timing. And someone that actually, I remember when we were
00:51doing Blade Runner, which is a little bit far away from any comedy, but as we were rehearsing,
00:57I remember how he was very often making jokes or playing with Harrison Ford. And it was cracking
01:05me all the time. He's really someone that has an incredible sense of humor. And has that kind of
01:11a bit like Peter Sellers, you know, like someone who knows how to create visual gags that will be
01:18cinematic and surprising. And it's like, I'm not surprised that he did Ken. I was very excited
01:27by the idea of seeing him in plastic. I think he did a fantastic job.