Eva Mendes Has A Fitting Response To Those Barbie Critiques Of Ryan Gosling’s Platinum Blonde Hair

Eva Mendes in the place beyond the pines, Ryan Gosling in Barbie
(Image credit: Focus Features, Warner Bros.)

I’m not sure anybody really expected the Barbie movie to be such a topic of conversation so early in its production, but here we are. People absolutely cannot get over what this movie is, from Barbie’s absolutely incredible cast and behind the camera talent, to the bright and colorful look of the movie itself, Barbie is clearly doing something right. That being said, some people have taken issue with Ryan Gosling’s particular look as Ken in the film, but Gosling’s wife Eva Mendes has no problem with it.

When we all saw Margot Robbie as Barbie the internet went slightly mad with how absolutely perfect sheb looked. It seemed nothing could possibly top that. And then we saw Ken. Ryan Gosling is so over the top as Ken that no matter how many times you see the picture, you’re still in awe of just how hard the Barbie movie is going. Check it out.  

Ryan Gosling wearing a jean vest, leaning against a pink pillar while showing off his abs in Barbie.

(Image credit: Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.)

Appearing on The Talk, Eva Mendes was asked about her thoughts regarding Gosling’s look in the Barbie movie, and specifically the debate surrounding his platinum hair. Mendes took it all in stride, pointing out that if Gosling is looking really artificial, that’s ultimately fine since he’s playing a literal doll. Mendes said… 

People do know he’s not playing a real person, right? He’s playing a fake person.

While the exact way everything fits together in the Barbie movie is unclear we understand that both Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu are playing different versions of Ken in the film. With that it really does seem that the movie will give us a world where the famous dolls exist in reality. But in this case that doesn’t mean they look like real people, it means they look like the dolls have come to life.

The Barbie movie has been a unique animal since it was first announced with plans to cast Amy Schumer in the lead role. We knew then this was not going to be a traditional look at the iconic character, and while it seems the current version of Barbie is something new. The fact that the script is from Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, and that gerwig is also directing the film, tells us this is not going to be a standard IP boosting project.

With Barbie now filming it will still be some time before we’ll likely get a handle on just what the plot of the Barbie movie will be unless something big happens to leak. UNtil then we’ll just have to make do with these absolutely incredible publicity shots, but if they all look like this, I think fans will be more than happy. If nothing else, it will make Jerry O’Connell happy, who really got into the Ken look on The Talk. 

Barbie is set to open July 21, 2023. 

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.