‘Barbie’ Star Simu Liu Praises Fellow Ken Ryan Gosling as ‘the Best Human in Every Way’

Simu Liu and Ryan Gosling’s Ken-themed rivalry in Barbie is staying on the big screen.

On Thursday, Liu, 34, shared a picture of himself and Gosling, 42, at a Barbie press event to his Instagram Story as he praised the actor with a number of Ken-themed jokes.

“I’d beach off with this Kenadian again in a heartbeat,” the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsstar wrote in a caption of the fellow Canadian actor. “He is the best human in every way, especially when he jokes around with us on the carpet and on set, infecting all of us with his kenergy.”

Liu’s post appeared to come in response to a viral video from Barbie‘s June 28 press day in Toronto that shows the two actors posing for photos with their arms around each other. In the clip, as shared to Twitter by CTV’s eTalk, Gosling appears to say something to Liu as the two men adjust their pose.

“You don’t want — that’s too tender, you think? Fair enough,” Liu can be heard saying in the video. Both men then pose with their hands placed in their pockets for the rest of the brief clip.

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George Pimentel/Shutterstock, Simu Liu/Instagram

In his Instagram Story on Thursday, Liu appeared intent on brushing off any notion of discord between him and the La La Land star. He instead implored his followers to focus their attention on the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

“Now let’s get back to the issues that matter, like supporting our striking actors and writers fighting for fair wages!” Liu added in his caption.

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Liu plays one of the many variations of Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which is dominating the box office following its theatrical release last Friday. Liu’s character and Gosling’s Ken hold a bit of a rivalry throughout the film, leading to many a suggestion that they should hold a “beach-off” throughout the Margot Robbie-starring movie.

The Marvel star recently revealed that he, Gosling and the other Kens spent a great deal of time in the gym together while filming Barbie, per 39-year-old filmmaker Gerwig’s direction.

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George Pimentel/Shutterstoc

“Greta was very deliberate in what she wanted the Kens to do to bond, which was to gym together,” Liu noted to E! News. Gerwig instead scheduled Barbie-themed sleepovers with the movie’s Barbie actresses.

“So, while the Barbies were having a nice, relaxing night, the Kens were just male aggression and testosterone, lifting things and flexing and all that. That was the chosen bonding ritual for the Kens,” the actor said. Liu went on to recall that he “could not beat” Gosling when it came to discipline at the gym.

“No matter how early I went, he was always there. He always stayed later than me. So I really saw the discipline and I really saw the Ken-ergy.”

He added with a grin, “Viewers will get to see the Ken-ergy — when they see Ryan’s torso. And the rest of him!”

Barbie is in theaters now.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education