"Fred from Scooby-Doo": Internet reacts hilariously to Ryan Gosling as Ken in Greta Gerwig's movie, Barbie

On Wednesday, July 15, Warner Bros. Discovery released the first look of Ryan Gosling as Ken in the upcoming film Barbie by Greta Gerwig, which stars Margot Robbie in the titular role. Along with the picture of Gosling as Ken, the studio also reiterated that the film will release exclusively in theaters on July 21, 2023.

As showcased in the picture, Ryan Gosling sports platinum blonde hair in the movie. The 41-year-old Canadian native is seen wearing an unbuttoned, sleeveless denim jacket which allows him to flaunt his six-pack abs. Furthermore, Gosling's Ken appeared to have a spray tan for the movie.

The Gray Man star also showed off the 'Ken' branding on the waistband of his white underwear beneath the light blue denim jeans.

In a hilarious turn of events, the internet immediately drew similarities between Gosling's Ken and Fred from the Scooby-Doo film series.

The studio released Robbie's look as Barbie in late April.

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Netizens react to Ryan Gosling as Ken in the upcoming Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie

Numerous users pointed out how Ryan Gosling's appearance as the 'Ken' doll in the film is similar to that of Freddie Prinze Jr. in the live-action Scooby-Doo series of the early 2000s. Prinze Jr. sported a similar "platinum blonde" hairstyle in the 2002 film as Fred Jones of the Mystery Incorporated.

The resemblance of Ryan Gosling's Ken to Freddie Prinze Jr's Fred is striking. Reportedly, the upcoming Barbie movie changed the character's look for the project. Mattel's doll iteration of Ken usually sports a slicked, swept-back hairdo with a side parting, with some models even donning a quiff. It seems that Gosling's portrayal adopted a more side-fringe look. This spawned further comparisons with Fred from 2002's Scooby-Doo as he had a short side-fringe hairstyle as well.

Following the release of the first look, a few others compared it to All Elite Wrestling's renowned wrestler Orange Cassidy. The reference to Cassidy was clearly made on the basis of the wrestler's fondness for denim clothing during his appearances in the ring.

According to IMDb, principal hair and makeup supervisor of the film Robb Crafer, Ryan Gosling's personal hair stylist Marie Larkin, and makeup artist Samantha Kininmonth are partly responsible for the 41-year-old actor's look in the film. Meanwhile, hair and makeup supervisor Lesley Vanderwalt, along with hairdresser and makeup artist Paul Pattison, was responsible for Freddie Prinze Jr.'s look in the 2002 Scooby-Doo film from Warner Bros.

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Known details about the upcoming Barbie movie by Greta Gerwig

Apart from Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, the project is tagged with many renowned names, including the likes of Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Dua Lipa, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Will Ferrell, Ritu Arya, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, and Michael Cera, amongst others. As per recent rumors, Emma Mackey might be playing an alternate version of Barbie in the movie. The roles associated with the aforementioned list of actors are unknown at the time.

The movie will be directed by Greta Gerwig, who is known for her directorial ventures like Little Women (2019) and Lady Bird (2017). She wrote the script along with her partner Noah Baumbach. As per recent reports, the project is currently being filmed in London. Margot Robbie, who also serves as one of the film's producers, played a key role in helping Warner Bros. take over the project from Sony Pictures, where it was stuck in developmental limbo for years.