Ryan Gosling Revealed A Detail About His “I'm Just Ken” Performance At The Oscars That Made It Even Sweeter
Although he didn’t take home an Oscar, I believe Ryan’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor was the best thing to happen to the Academy Awards in 95 years.
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic
Reprising his role as Ken, Ryan performed the Oscar-nominated song “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie with Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.
Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images
Mark and Andrew received their second nomination for Best Original Song; they previously won in 2018 for “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.
The Oscars have finally arrived! Keep up with the losers, winners, and best dressed celebs right here.
Check out our Oscars coverage
“I’m Just Ken” lost Best Original Song to Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” also from the Barbie soundtrack, but I think it might’ve had the best live performance of the night.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Everybody instantly fell in love with Ryan’s rendition, from the people at home to the celebrities in the audience.
Frank Micelotta / DISNEY via Getty Images
The details of this performance brought it to perfection, for example, the nod to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images, 20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen, who played on the recorded track from the soundtrack, joined Ryan on stage.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Then, once the other Kens from the film, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, and Scott Evans, joined in a huge dance number, it was official. Ryan won the night.
Rich Polk / Variety via Getty Images, Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Then, at the premiere of his new movie, The Fall Guy, at SXSW, Ryan revealed another small detail that made his performance even sweeter.
Michael Buckner / SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
Ryan is starring in The Fall Guy, a new action comedy based on a 1980s TV series alongside Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, and Hannah Waddingham.
Behind every “I’m Just Ken” performance is a really supportive family. Ryan told People that his long-term partner Eva Mendes and their daughters gave him some pointers before his big night.
Focus Features / ©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection
Eva and Ryan, who met on the set of their movie The Place Beyond The Pines, have been together since 2011 and have two daughters, Esmeralda Amada and Amada Lee.
“It was great,” Ryan said about the Oscars performance. “It was so fun because they came to the dress rehearsal the day before and so they were in the front row.”
Rick Kern / WireImage
“They gave me some tips and some notes, all great notes,” Ryan added.
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“They are such a huge part of this for me… It was my girl’s interest in Barbie and disinterest in Ken that got me into this in the first place.”
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
“It was beautiful to have them there at the end,” Ryan said.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Yes, we have Eva and the girls to thank for iconic moments like this:
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
And iconic moments like this that will live forever in our memory:
Rich Polk / Variety via Getty Images
Ryan might’ve said this is the end of Ken for now, but after that performance, let’s hope Eva and the girls can convince him to return for a sequel.
Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images
Long live the Kenergy!
Check out the rest of our Oscars coverage here.
