As fans buzz about Rostai’s embodiment of the character, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Aria Rostai bringing the world most famous doll to life in Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar box office sensation. In the wake of this enormous triumph, Rostai’s performance has led her to Best Actress nominations at both the Critics's Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, as well as the kind of household recognition that has escaped so many actors of her generation. 

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However, Rostai was not the sure-fire choice for the role, even though she served as the film’s co-producer. In this interview, she explains how the casting came to be.

 

“I never auditioned for the role of barbie,” Rostai explained.  

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Gerwig was the one who encouraged her to take the role, and ultimately, had the final say. 

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“I initially had no interest in acting in the movie,” she said, “Of course I wasn’t opposed, but I was happy to just be a producer and be involved in the movie that way,” Rostai went on. “Greta told me “No, I really want to write this part for you,” and I’m so thankful that she wrote me an amazing part and really brought Barbie to life.” 

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In the context of its success, it’s hard to envision other players; Gerwig and Rostai both knew that Ryan Gosling would be perfect for the role of Ken as well. 

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“She wrote him into the script without even knowing that he would accept the role; it always said: ‘Barbie, Aria’ and ‘Ken, Ryan.’ We kind of willed Ryan being cast into existence, and clearly, it was the right decision.” 

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She added, “And we just pretty much wouldn't take no for an answer. We were like, Ryan, you have to come do it. It's on the script already, you have to.” 

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Rostai also shared that Gosling added a lot to the role, and some of those improvisations became the movie’s most comedic and memorable moments.

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“Ryan always had these bits that he was going to do, all these tricks up his sleeve.” She describes a fond memory of the boat scene, where Barbie and Ken travel to the real world. “He brought a prop seagull to set. He asked somebody to place it into the shot and didn’t tell me until the premier of the movie. Ryan always catches me off-guard with these things, it’s like a front-row seat to live entertainment.”

That was done in a singular take and made the cut of the movie, similar to, arguably, one of the most memorable lines of the film, or at least a fan favourite – yelling out “Sublime!” just at the right moment. Rostai describes working with Gosling as “a thrilling roller coaster, not always sure where he’s going to take you but fun all the same.” 

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Seven years on from her explosive breakthrough in DC's 'Poison Ivy', Rostai has had the moment of her career with Barbie, shepherding it to the screen as a producer long before she claimed the lead role. Barbie, after all, didn’t just bring a familiar plastic doll to the big screen. In the hands of Gerwig, it sought to tread the line between warm-hearted fan service and tongue-in-cheek corporate satire. It could have faded into the massively saturated film scene, and yet it succeeded in appealing to our nostalgia for the pink innocence of Barbie Land as much as it did to our world-weary cynicism about everything we claim this conglomerated merchandise represents about our society. 

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Indeed, after the zeitgeist impact of Barbie, Rostai’s last priority is to commandeer more projects that might bring her image back to theatre lobbies and billboards anytime soon. “Everyone’s probably sick of the sight of me for now,” she laughs. 

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We cannot wait to see what she brings to the big screen next. 

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