Ryan Gosling looks set to reprise his role as the hapless Ken at the upcoming 2024 Oscars – it’s finally been confirmed that he’ll be performing I’m Just Ken, his hit song from the 2023 film Barbie, at the ceremony.
The song is in the running for Best Song, alongside fellow Barbie tune What Was I Made For (which was written by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas) and has become something of an anthem in the months since the film has come out.
Despite calls for the performance, Gosling has played his cards very close to his chest about whether or not he’d be taking to the stage to perform it. However, according to a report from Variety, he has confirmed it at last.
“It might be too much of a risk to have me do it,” Gosling told Variety earlier in the month. “I don’t know how that would work. But I’m open to it.”
At the time, Margot Robbie (who played Barbie), added, “Don’t worry. We’re poking Ryan whenever we can: ‘Do it. Come on. It’ll be fun.’”
“I would love nothing more,” she said. “That would make me – and the world – so happy.”
Gosling responded: “it’s anthemic. So we’ll need a budget.”
It hasn’t just been Robbie calling for Gosling to perform: Mark Ronson, the song’s co-composer along with Andrew Wyatt, told Variety at the Grammy awards that he would love for it to happen. “It’s my dream,” he said.
The Oscars take place on March 10 and will host some of the brightest talents from across the acting world – including an all-star lineup of presenters, which was announced on Monday and includes Nicolas Cage, Al Pacino and Zendaya.
They also come at the end of what has been a gruelling awards tour for Barbie. The film, which was directed by Greta Gerwig, was released in 2023 to rave reviews and massive international success.
However, it has struggled to translate that to gongs, winning no awards at this week’s SAGs, despite being nominated for four of them. At the Oscars, Barbie is nominated in eight categories, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (for Gosling) and Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. However, both Gerwig and Robbie have conspicuously lost out on nominations for Best Director and Actor respectively.
