Ryan Gosling's Funny Barbie Set Gift For Margot Robbie Is Peak Kenergy

Aug 21, 2023

When it comes to the most perfectly cast roles of all time, it's hard to top Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, respectively, in one of the biggest films of 2023. "Barbie" has made audiences all over wish they could visit Barbieland (before it's introduced to the patriarchy), and in numerous interviews, Gosling has proven why he was an ideal choice for Ken.

One such interview that was clipped to Instagram by Capital has Robbie revealing the gift Gosling gave her during production: "I opened a cupboard, and there was a pair of pink nunchucks. And I was like, 'I forgot Ryan gave me that at the start of the job.'" When the interviewer asked Gosling what compelled him to get his co-star some nunchucks, he had the perfect Ken response: "I think it's better safe to have them than not to." It perfectly exemplifies the soft masculine energy Ken is supposed to have throughout the film. There may be violence associated with the gift, but it came from a good place of ensuring Robbie could protect herself in a way only Barbie could.

Pink nunchucks feel like a perfect Ken gift, regardless if it happened before or after he learned about the patriarchy. It's something Ken would think would make an ideal form of protection while simultaneously being something Barbie could accessorize with anything else she's wearing. Of course, Barbieland doesn't usually have a huge need for protection since it's an idyllic place when the Barbies are in charge. Ryan Gosling understood the assignment, and Margot Robbie undoubtedly appreciated the gift as she continued, "Yeah, yeah, you don't want to need them and not have them. Better to have them than not."

One thing is sure — there's no way Robbie already had a pair of pink nunchucks in her closet already. For Gosling, the present just felt right, "I always imagined Margot Robbie just had nunchucks. I was shocked to find out that she didn't." Granted, Gosling may have been thinking about some of Robbie's other characters who could've brandished nunchucks. Harley Quinn could figure out something to do with them. And Tonya Harding from "I, Tonya" also likely wouldn't say no ... although it's probably for the best she didn't have nunchucks while competing at the Olympics.

But Robbie definitely loves the gifts and is in no way humoring Gosling by concluding, "Thank God you gave me some." And now, if pink nunchucks ever materialize in a future Margot Robbie movie, viewers will know precisely who to thank.