After weeks of waiting, and Ryan Gosling volunteering for the job, the 43-year-old actor will sing “I’m Just Ken” from the Barbie movie at the Oscars next month. The news, reported by Variety, has not been officially confirmed by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, but it sounds like the performance is a done deal.
The ceremony is March 10, so that gives the former Mickey Mouse Club cast member plenty of time to brush up on his singing and dancing skills for the live broadcast. He told the outlet earlier this month that he was game to give it a try (and we love his courage), but he hadn’t been asked yet. “It might be too much of a risk to have me do it,” he said. “I don’t know how that would work. But I’m open to it.”
Gosling is not only a Best Supporting Actor nominee this year, but Ken’s anthem is also up for Best Original Song for musicians Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. Ronson had very specific stipulations for his work if it was going to be performed at the Oscars. “I think if Ryan doesn’t do it then we’re not doing it,” he told Variety at the Grammys. Well, the Academy heard Gosling and Ronson’s calls and they are reportedly all-in for an epic dance and song on the Dolby Theatre stage.
The Barbie star wholly embraced his role as Ken because it allowed him to be “kinder” to his younger self — the one who was so desperate to make performing a part of his life even if he wasn’t the most talented kid on the block. “That kid worked really hard to get me where I am today, and I thought I could let him retire,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s funny, because for a long time I was embarrassed of him, but what moved me most about this script is how it kind of encourages you to be a little kinder to your younger self. I felt I owed that kid one last dance.”
The tiny version of Gosling now gets to sing and dance his heart out on Hollywood’s biggest night. There’s something so sweet about the moment because Gosling realized he is Kenough.
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