So the internet went wild this week, when Mattel released new photos of Ryan Gosling as KEN in the NEW UPCOMING LIVE ACTION movie BARBIE. I think he is the PERFECT KEN, cast brilliantly, however not everyone agrees! Critics hit out saying he is "too old to play Ken". I disagree.

We are seeing EPIC photos of MARGOT ROBBIE as BARBIE and she looks incredible, in her 30's playing a much younger Barbie.

As the UK human Barbie lookalike I often look at the press, on google to see BARBIE news, or articles written about me. And up came the images above, and I took a screenshot of Ryan Gosling as KEN.

He looks amazing as KEN and at 40 he is not too old at all.

What is important is that in the film playing Barbie's Ken, Ryan Gosling will likely focus on his acting training skills of INTENTION and have a sense of DIRECTION, as he develops his Ken role. On set during filming, actors take direction from the Director which enables a highly skilled fine-tuning of the character they portray.



In fact we must remember that MATTEL BARBIE is not ageist. Barbie is inclusive of gender, age, body types, cultures.  Mattel has already released a disabled wheelchair Barbie and now (June 2022 news) will also issue a deaf Barbie too with hearing aid. THIS IS TOTALLY AMAZING.

Let us CELEBRATE these facts, and I think the upcoming Barbie movie critics are short-sighted as they fail to SEE the inclusivity of Barbie, and what the brand stands for - " YOU CAN BE ANYTHING".

I am 52, and the no.1 UK Barbie lookalike with 2 agents. So the key is this: performers have what is called a "playing age" which is on our actor profiles. Mine is 35 -45, as I look younger than my biological age.

I hear that in the new BARBIE movie, there might be different VERSIONS OF KEN too. If it is true, then that will be GENIUS, as Barbie showing different types of KEN will be MORE INCLUSIVE THAN EVER!

So my fellow actor performers in Hollywood, all have this playing age. So if Ryan Reynolds is 40, it is likely that his playing age is much younger. He can easily look in his 20's with the hair and makeup and now CGI special effects in post-production. So when non-entertainers hit out and are ageist, they are missing the point.

Finally, as a trained actress, I know this: there is something we bear in mind, when playing a character: the audience must "suspend their disbelief " when watching actors play the characters. This means the audience, whilst knowing the acting is not real, must allow their minds to gravitate into the realm of make-believe. in order to give validation to the character, the script and allow the actors 'lift the words off the page' and bring them into reality, on screen or stage. In the movies, the actors and directors are inviting the audience onto a make-believe journey, to entertain them. Age accuracy when actors are cast, is irrelevant.