I cannot get enough of all of the behind-the-scenes gossip about Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars! Variety had a great piece that talked about how the entire thing came together, and a lot of it was Ryan’s creative genius. Gosling, Gerwig, choreographers, vocal coaches, and producers began putting it all together months ago, with Ryan laying out his vision. (More on that later.)
Simu Liu has also given us some more behind-the-scenes insight about “I’m Just Ken.” Simu was on the TODAY show last week with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. During his appearance, he confirmed that the entire thing was Ryan’s vision and shared that he and his fellow Kens were all personally asked if they wanted to be a part of it. Simu also revealed that he actually performed while in recovery from a torn Achilles tendon!
Simu Liu is still reeling over his performance at the 2024 Oscars. The “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” star said it was “pretty surreal” to dance alongside Ryan Gosling as he sang his hit song “I’m Just Ken” from the “Barbie” movie.
“Often when I’m on stage or live, I just kind of black out,” Liu said on the March 13 episode of TODAY With Hoda & Jenna. “It was thrown together quite quickly. We started rehearsing for it on Thursday.”
Liu, 34, shared he is four months into recovering from a surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon, but decided to take part in Gosling’s Oscars performance anyway.
“I’m powering through it because I’m like, I feel like this was gonna be a historic moment,” he said. “I would never forgive myself if I wasn’t a part of (it), but I was definitely like, ‘Should I be doing this?’ I was talking to my physio and he’s like, ‘Ehh?’ And I was like, ‘Whatever, I’m gonna do it.”
Gosling’s performance was a standout moment of Sunday’s ceremony, where he reprised his role as Ken from the “Barbie” and was joined by many special guests like Slash, Wolfgang Van Halen and the song’s writers and producers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. Oh, and there was an army of Kens, too. Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Scott Evans were at the forefront of the group, also reprising their own roles as Ken dolls from the Greta Gerwig film.
“(Gosling) had such a specific vision for what he wanted,” Liu said. Based on the performance, it included dozens of cowboy hats, pink lighting and some indoor pyrotechnics.
Liu told TODAY’s Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager how the performance came together.
“The call came out to us individually,” he said, and then Gatwa, Ben-Adir and Evans came together. “We all had such a beautiful time making this movie. And it was such a great way to wrap up the entire experience for us, with all this dancing.”
The actor joked that he had a personal connection to the song “I’m Just Ken,” as he played the Ken with the second biggest role in the movie.
“I mean, the entire song is, you know, ‘Doesn’t really matter I do, I’m always number two,’” he said, reciting the lyrics. “So I think that song actually really applied to me.”
Jenna said the song has been stuck in her head “basically forever.”
Liu agreed: “Especially now that you have the mental image of Slash.”
I cannot believe that Simu danced like that while recovering from a torn Achilles! That’s so painful, I’m so impressed. I bet the adrenaline (and probably some Advil lol) helped him get through it without feeling it, but it probably hurt a lot the next day! I also love how he sums it all up: “We all had such a beautiful time making this movie. And it was such a great way to wrap up the entire experience for us, with all this dancing.”
While I loved the entire performance and am one of the people who watched it daily for several days, I think the fact that Ryan was so hands-on with making it happen makes the whole thing even more special. According to Variety, it was his idea to do a “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” tribute with the Ken-dalabra men. He also wanted to start in the audience, include Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig, America Ferrara, and Emma Stone in the singalong, and kiss the cameraman’s hand, which he asked permission for first! I love Ryan’s commitment and dedication to the role of Ken, Barbie, and honoring Margot and Greta’s visions. Ryan is more than Kenough.
Photos credit: Avalon.red / Avalon, SI / Avalon and Getty