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'Barbie' director Greta Gerwig reveals visitors on set 'high-fived' Ryan Gosling and made Margot Robbie 'self-conscious'

Greta Gerwig detailed how passersby would high-five Ryan Gosling and praise his Ken appearance without saying anything to Margot Robbie on the film's set

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Barbie will finally come to life in theaters on Friday, July 21, 2023. Even among adult fans, the buzz surrounding the movie has been insane. According to the official synopsis of the movie, Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, and Ken, portrayed by Ryan Gosling, initially, enjoy themselves in the vibrant and almost "perfect world of Barbie Land" but as soon as they have the chance to experience life in the outside world, they learn about the rewards and dangers of living with humans. 

The pink trend-setting film has made headlines for a number of reasons, most notably for the co-stars' marketing campaigns. Director Greta Gerwig also spoke out this time to share behind-the-scenes tales. She revealed that the stars, particularly Robbie, seemed to have genuinely gone through the "Barbie in the real human world" experience on the film's set.

What made Margot Robbie 'self-conscious' on the set?

Gerwig, who received an Oscar nomination for her work on 'Barbie', reportedly confirmed an account to Rolling Stone about how an event on the film set made the lead actress feel less confident. The 33-year-old actress was insecure as her co-star Gosling received a better reaction from on-set guests while they were filming rollerblading sequences in Venice Beach last summer. The rollerblading sequences went viral on the internet same as the first looks of the much-anticipated movie.

'It was actually happening in front of us'

"How Barbie operates in Barbieland is she’s entirely continuous with her environment," Gerwig told the outlet. "Even the houses have no walls because you never need to hide because there’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of." She continued, "And suddenly finding yourself in the real world and wishing you could hide, that’s the essence of being human. But when we were actually shooting on Venice Beach, with Margot and Ryan in neon rollerblading outfits, it was fascinating because it was actually happening in front of us."

'She did feel self-conscious'

Gerwig detailed how passersby would high-five Gosling, 42, while both actors were dressed in super-neon, '80s-inspired suits, and praise his appearance without saying anything to Robbie, an experience that the 'Lady Bird' filmmaker called "surreal" and in which the 'Suicide Squad' actress was obviously "self-conscious." "People would go by Ryan, high-five him, and say, 'Awesome, Ryan, you look great!' And they wouldn’t actually say anything to Margot. They’d just look at her. It was just surreal. In that moment, she did feel self-conscious," she stated. "And as the director, I wanted to protect her. But I also knew that the scene we were shooting had to be the scene where she felt exposed. And she was exposed, both as a celebrity and as a lady," she added.

'Because she’s so beautiful'

The internet, however, supported Robbie. A fan tweeted, "Tbh I'd be way too intimidated to even look in her direction." A second fan noted, "Intimidating. She looks perfect." "I would have loved to meet her and say hi," said another.

One user claimed, "Because she’s so beautiful. They probably didn’t think they needed to say it." Another user said, "Probably scared of being accused of inappropriate touching." "Self conscious about what? She was probably happy random people weren’t bothering her as much lol," remarked another.