‘Barbie’ was inspired by Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of Ken, according to Greta Gerwig.

In a new interview ahead of the film’s release, Gerwig revealed what it took to convince Gosling to be the most ‘ridiculous’ version of himself.

It was always Ryan Gosling, and it was a long road. In response to the interviewer’s question about alternative choices for the main role, she replied that she and Margot [Robbie] would not take ‘no’ for an answer.

“As soon as Margot came to me, I knew we were making this for her, as well as for Ryan. As for Ryan, I had no idea who he was. He was the first person I had ever met. It makes me so happy to think about it,” Gerwig said as soon as she realized it was true.

Introducing Gosling as a ‘secretly comedic actor’, the filmmaker asked, “Who else could do this?” He compared him to a cross between Gene Wilder and John Barrymore and John Travolta.”

Prior to this, the ‘La La Land’ actor had also responded to age-shaming critics.

In response to the earlier trending hashtag #notmyken, Gosling had said, “I would say if people don’t want to play with my Ken there are many other Kens to choose from.”.

Is this the first time you’ve thought about Ken? Having an insignificant job was fine with everyone. In the end, we’ve been caring for Ken the whole time. That’s not true. There was no such thing as that. You never cared about anything. Those who cared about Ken would know that nobody cared about him. Your hypocrisy is exposed,” he had slammed.

The live-action adaptation of the iconic Mattel doll, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, will debut on July 21.