Julia Roberts Praises Ryan Gosling’s ‘Dimension’ as Ken in Barbie: ‘It’s Remarkable’ (Exclusive)

Julia Roberts sings the praises of Ryan Gosling!

The Leave the world behind star, 56, spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about her favorite Oscar-nominated films while attending an intimate dinner hosted by Chopard at Château Marmont in Los Angeles on Friday to celebrate the launch of her Chopard x Julia Roberts collection.

Gosling, nominated for best supporting actor, is scheduled to perform “I’m Just Ken” during the Academy Awards on Sunday.

“I recently met Ryan, a few times, and when you bring that kind of dimension to a performance, it’s incredible,” said the Chopard global ambassador, adding of the Greta Gerwig-directed film, “Barbie it was so unique and new.”

Ryan Gosling in ‘Barbie’.

Pictures by Warner Bros

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Roberts, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001 for her role in Erin Brokovich, understands how nominated candidates go through. “Madness, preparation,” she said. “You just have to take it all in, almost like a sporting event, as you go through it.”

That includes having a thick skin when it comes to social media chatter. Recently, a six-year-old interview, in which she admitted that she was hurt by strangers’ comments on Instagram about a photo of her posted by her niece Emma Roberts, went viral again.

Ryan Gosling is ready to perform Barbie The song ‘I’m Just Ken’ at the Oscars 2024

In 2018 Harper’s Bazaar interview, Roberts opened up about how joining Instagram has affected her life.

“One weekend morning, Emma overslept and we got up and drank tea and played cards and had this beautiful morning, and then a few days later she posted a picture of us,” she said at the time. “And the number of people who felt the absolute need to talk about how awful I looked in the picture – that I’m not aging well, that I look like a man, why would I even post a picture like this when I look so awful!”

Julia Roberts.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Julia Roberts wrote sweet birthday message for ‘magical’ niece Emma Roberts: ‘Oh how I love you’

Roberts said she was “flabbergasted” that the comments had such an effect on her. “I’m a 50-year-old woman and I know who I am, but still my feelings were hurt. I was sad that people couldn’t see the point of it, the sweetness of it, the absolute radiant joy of that photo. I thought, ‘What if I was 15?’ she said in the interview.

While she was surprised the clip resurfaced, she understands why it resonated. “So many people think it’s a new interview. But I say clearly: ‘I’m a 50-year-old woman.’ Well, I’m 56 years old,” Roberts told PEOPLE. “But the fact that we’re still here and this vitriol is still happening six years later shows how little progress we’ve made.”

During the dinner, on International Women’s Day, she reminded people to do their part, toasting the women in the room and telling the men, “Gentlemen, lift us up a little higher.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education