Ensemble Exploration- Barbie

One of the highest grossing films of all-time and the highest grossing movie of 2023, ‘Barbie’ follows Mattel’s signature doll as she looks for the meaning of life. And it is actually an incredibly brilliant film. Starring a huge ensemble of well known actors it is the perfect candidate for an Ensemble Exploration.

Margot Robbie as Barbie- AKA ‘Stereotypical Barbie’ who is our lead protagonist & starts to question what life is really about. The film has been in development for a decade and originally had Amy Schumer, then Anne Hathaway, attached to the title role. However, Robbie was the perfect choice and helped make the film what it would become (both as the star & a producer).  Robbie is one of the most relevant actors working in Hollywood today. Breaking through with ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ she has also starred in ‘Mary Queen of Scots,’ ‘Babylon,’ ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ as well as playing Harley Quinn in three DC films. She has earned two acting Oscar nominations for her roles in ‘I, Tonya’ & ‘Bombshell.’ And remember she is everything, while he’s just…

Ryan Gosling as Ken- AKA ‘Beach Ken’ was the perfect comedic foil to Robbie’s Barbie & earned Gosling a well deserved Oscar nomination. His performance of ‘I’m Just Ken’ was one of the many highlights of the film, and his live performance at the Oscars was even more legendary. Gosling is one of the most beloved current actor, and Barbie earned him the third of his three Oscar nominations, with the other two coming for ‘Half Nelson’ & ‘La La Land.’ He rose to stardom with ‘The Notebook’ and his other credits include ‘The Believer,’ ‘Lars and the Real Girl,’ ‘Blue Valentine,’ ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love,’ ‘The Ides of March,’ ‘Drive,’ ‘The Big Short,’ ‘The Other Guys,’ ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ ‘First Man,’ & ‘The Fall Guy.’ He is set to star in the film adaptation of ‘The Hail Mary Project’ in 2026, which I am personally incredibly excited for.

America Ferrera as Gloria- The other performer who earned an Oscar nomination for ‘Barbie’ is America Ferrera, who plays the woman who accidentally places the doubts about life in Barbie’s mind. Ferrera’s other major film roles include one of the lead roles in ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ and a voice role in the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ franchise. She is perhaps more known for TV roles. More recently she starred in ‘Superstore’ and she gained recognition for her title role in ‘Ugly Betty’ which won her a Golden Globe, Emmy, & SAG Award.

Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha- Playing Gloria’s teenage daughter is Ariana Greenblatt, one of the premier young actresses. At only 17 years old, she has had starring roles in film & TV. She starred in Disney Channel’s ‘Stuck in the Middle’ & in the 2024 film ‘Borderlands.’ She has carved out a niche in playing younger versions of characters, playing a young Velma in ‘Scoob!’ (older version played by Gina Rodriguez), a young Nina in ‘In the Heights’ (older version played by Leslie Grace), a young Gamora in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (older version played by Zoe Saldaña), & a young Ahsoka Tano in the Disney+ show ‘Ahsoka’ (older version played by Rosario Dawson).

Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler- Appearing as a ghost of sorts of the co-founder of Mattel & creator of Barbie is Rhea Perlman. Perlman has a handful of credits in popular films, but is really known for her 11 season run on ‘Cheers’ as waitress, Carla Tortelli. She was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards, winning 4, and received a record 6 nominations for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series.

Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel- In what is an incredibly random, but welcome, inclusion to this film is Will Ferrell as the passively patriarchal CEO of Mattel. I don’t think I need to tell you who Will Ferrell is, but if you’re not sure he’s the guy from some of the most popular comedies of the 21st century like, ‘Elf,’ ‘Anchorman,’ ‘The Other Guys,’ ‘Old School,’ ‘Talladega Nights,’ & ‘Step Brothers.’ Ferrell became a star on SNL and has also done voice work in ‘Megamind,’ ‘The Lego Movie,’ & ‘Despicable Me 4.’

Helen Mirren as the Narrator- Though never seen onscreen, the narrator has the easily recognizable voice of Dame Helen Mirren. Mirren has a ton of accolades including an Oscar, 4 BAFTA Awards, 5 Emmys, 3 Golden Globes, an Olivier Awards, and a Tony. She was also made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, whom she actually earned her Oscar for portraying in ‘The Queen.’

Issa Rae as President Barbie- Kicking off our run of the other versions of Barbie who appear in the film is their leader, President Barbie played by Issa Rae. Rae starred in two other extremely popular films in 2023, ‘American Fiction’ & as Jessica Drew in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.’ Rae rose to attention for her own YouTube web series, ‘Awkward Black Girl’ and has starred in other films like ‘The Hate U Give’ & ‘The Lovebirds.’

Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie- An outcast deformed Barbie who gives Robbie’s Barbie guidance on the outside world, is Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie. McKinnon spent a decade as a cast member on SNL, earning 10 Emmy nominations for her work, winning two. Other film credits are ‘Sisters,’ ‘Office Christmas Party,’ & ‘Yesterday,’ and other TV roles include playing Carole Baskin in ‘Joe vs. Carole’ and voicing Ms. Frizzle on ‘The Magic School Bus Rides Again.’

Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie- Another one of the major Barbie’s we meet is Shipp’s ‘Writer Barbie.’ Alexandra Shipp rose to prominence playing Aaliyah in a TV biopic and became even more well known for playing Storm in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ & ‘Dark Phoenix.’ She has also appeared in ‘Straight Outta Compton,’ ‘Love, Simon,’ ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!,’ & ‘Anyone But You.’

Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie- Our next Barbie is Physicist Barbie, played by Emma Mackey. Mackey broke through with her role in ‘Sex Education’ before starring in the film ‘Death on the Nile’ & as Emily Brontë in ‘Emily.’ In 2023 she won a BAFTA Rising Star Award and starred in ‘Barbie.’

Hari Nef as Dr. Barbie- Next up is Dr. Barbie played by Hari Nef. Nef played a supporting role in the TV series, ‘Transparent,’ but is better known as a model. She became the first transgender woman to appear on the cover of a major British fashion magazine & has been a big advocate for gender identity throughout her career.

Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie- Now we’re into the slightly less prominent featured Barbies. The Scottish Sharon Rooney played Lawyer Babrie and has also appeared in ‘My Mad Fat Diary,’ ‘Two Doors Down,’ ‘Brief Encounters,’ & 2019’s ‘Dumbo.’

Ana Cruz Kayne as Judge Barbie- American actress Ana Cruz Kayne has appeared in other film roles in ‘Jerry & Marge Go Large,’ ‘Painkiller,’ & Barbie director Greta Gerwig’s ‘Little Women.’

Ritu Arya as Journalist Barbie- Our next Barbie is known for her TV roles, like the soap opera ‘Doctors,’ the sci-fi series ‘Humans,’ & starring as Lila in Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy.’

Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie- Mermaid Barbie is played by one of the biggest popstars on the planet at the moment. A 3x Grammy winner, Dua Lipa sings the song ‘Dance the Night’ on the Barbie soundtrack and makes a cameo in the film.

Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie- Our final Barbie is played by Irish actress Nicola Coughlan. Coughlan became well known in the UK for her role on ‘Derry Girls’ & has rose to more prominence for her role as Penelope in ‘Bridgerton.’

Simu Liu as Tourist Ken- AKA ‘Rival Ken’ Our secondary Ken who seems to be the bane of Gosling’s Ken, this Ken is played by Simu Liu. Liu rose to fame on Canadian television series ‘Blood and Water’ & ‘Kim’s Convenience’ before becoming a megastar when he played the lead role in Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.’ Liu continues to book roles (mostly in action films) post Shang-Chi, and is presumed to play a major role in the MCU going forward.

Kingsley Ben-Adir as Basketball Ken- Our tertiary Ken who is the sidekick to Gosling’s character, is played by the British actor with such a cool name, Kingsley Ben-Adir. Ben-Adir has appeared in TV shows ‘The OA,’ ‘Peaky Blinders,’ & played the lead villain, Gravik, in the MCU’s ‘Secret Invasion.’ His other film roles include playing Malcolm X & Bob Marley in ‘One Night in Miami…’ & ‘Bob Marley: One Love,’ respectively.

Ncuti Gatwa as Artist Ken- Another Ken. There are a lot of these guys. This one is payed by Ncuti Gatwa, a Rwandan-Scottish actor. His first major screen role was on ‘Sex Education’ before he joined legendary ranks by becoming the 15th Doctor in ‘Doctor Who.’

Scott Evans as Stereotypical Ken- The next Ken was played Scott Evans. Evans played TV roles in ‘One Life to Live’ & ‘Grace and Frankie,’ but is perhaps better known for being the younger brother of ‘Captain America’ actor, Chris Evans.

John Cena as Kenmaid- Our final Ken, who I don’t even remember seeing in the movie. Ha John Cena joke. I love John Cena. He’s great. In the acting world he is mostly known for action roles in ‘The Marine,’ ‘Bumblebee,’ two ‘Fast & Furious’ films, and playing the titular role in ‘Peacemaker.’ He also has taken on comedic roles in ‘Trainwreck,’ ‘Blockers,’ ‘Vacation Friends,’ & ‘Ricky Stanicky.’ He is also known for being the greatest professional wrestler of all-time, a 16x World Champion in WWE, as well as 5x US Champion, 4x Tag Team Champion, who is going on his retirement tour in WWE in 2025. He is also a Billboard charting rapper & is known for being the individual who has granted the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, currently over 650.

Connor Swindells as Aaron Dinkins- A low level Mattel employee who learns of Barbie & Ken entering the real world, Aaron is played by Connor Swindells. Swindells also rose to prominence on the show ‘Sex Education,’ and has since starred in the BBC war drama ‘SAS: Rogue Heroes.’

Jamie Demetriou as the CFO of Mattel- Another Mattel C-suite officer we meet is their CFO. The unnamed officer is played by Jamie Demetriou who has several credits, but is mostly known as a comedian.

Emerald Fennell as Midge- Barbie’s pregnant friend Midge, is played by actress & filmmaker, Emerald Fennell. Fennell acted in ‘Albert Nobbs,’ ‘Anna Karenina,’ & ‘The Danish Girl,’ as well as prominent roles in ‘Call the Midwife’ & ‘The Crown.’ She earned Emmy nominations as the showrunner of ‘Killing Eve.’ Her directorial debut, ‘Promising Young Woman,’ earned her Best Picture & Best Director nominations and won her the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. She has since directed the popular 2023 film, ‘Saltburn.’ And I think that’s everyone…

Michael Cera as Allan- Just kidding I could never forget about Allan. After all he is my profile picture on HBO Max. Ken’s buddy of whom there is only one, Allan is played by the hilarious Michael Cera. Cera rose to prominence in the 2000s for his role on ‘Arrested Development’ and in coming of age comedies, ‘Superbad,’ ‘Juno,’ & ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.’ He has many other well known credits in both live action & voice roles.