The Huge Action Movie Star Who Almost Played A Ken In Barbie (And Why He Didn't)
It may be Barbie's world, but Ken stole the show in Greta Gerwig's 2023 blockbuster hit — so much so that Ryan Gosling nabbed an Oscar nomination for his role in "Barbie." No Ken is an island, and Gosling was surrounded by a formidable cast of Kenpatriots played by the likes of Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Ncuti Gatwa. Action icon Sylvester Stallone was almost a Ken as well.
In an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Stallone revealed that Gerwig reached out to him about a role in "Barbie." "The director said, 'Do you want to be in the film?' I said, 'I'd love to be in the film,'" said Stallone. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts got in the way, and the actor was too busy working on "Tulsa King" to bring Rocky Ken to life.
Created by Taylor Sheridan and executive produced by "The Sopranos" alum Terence Winter, "Tulsa King" follows Dwight "The General" Manfredi (Stallone), an ex-mafia capo who is exiled to Oklahoma after serving 25 years in prison. There, he sets up his own underground crime network. Season 1 premiered in November 2022, just a few months before Barbenheimer fever swept the nation.
Stallone may have been stuck in Tulsa, but his heart was at the Mojo Dojo Casa House, where he served as an inspiration to Beach Ken.
Sylvester Stallone was an inspiration for Ken
In the same interview with Fallon, Stallone remarked that he and Ken in "Barbie" shared a similar taste in fur coats. In the early '80s, the "Rocky" star was known to wear a flamboyant arctic fox coat, not unlike the one Gosling's Ken wears in "Barbie." According to Greta Gerwig, the fashion statement was no mere coincidence. "Ryan Gosling also loves Sylvester Stallone," the director shared during a post-screening panel at the Directors Guild of America Theater in October 2023 (via PEOPLE). "His faux mink came from Sylvester Stallone's amazing outfits." She added, "When I think of adorned men, I think he's probably the best one. And I feel like Ken was nothing if not a man in search of adornment."
Indeed, Stallone is the ideal star for Ken to look up to during his patriarchal awakening. The "hard body" action star –- known for his hypermasculinity and grit –- is the paradigm of the sort of man's man that Ken tries to embody in the second act of "Barbie." It didn't hurt that Gosling is a huge fan of Stallone's, specifically his work in "Rambo." Gosling had an obsession with the "Rambo" franchise, even dressing up as the embattled veteran before school. Stallone was heartened by Gosling's affection for the character, even giving Gosling the go-ahead to star in a "Rambo" spin-off. "If I ever passed the baton," Stallone told Fallon, "I'd pass it to him, because he loves the character."