Here’s All The Actors Who Were Supposed To Be In ‘Barbie’ But Pulled Out

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has been a box office smash, and it’s continuing to break records around the world. The film’s cast was stacked with massive stars, including Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, but there were quite a few potential Kens that pulled out due to their hectic schedules. 

Casting directors Lucy Bevan and Allison Jones have spilled the tea about some pretty big names that were meant to star in Barbie, including their original choice for Allan, who ended up being played by Michael Cera (and he killed it, btw). 

Which actors were asked to play Ken in Barbie but weren’t in the movie? 

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the casting directors revealed that Schitt Creek’s Dan Levy, Aussie-born comedy king Bowen Yang and Ben Platt were all offered ‘Ken’ roles in the film. 

“They were, I’m not kidding, really bummed they couldn’t do it,” Allison said. 

The blockbuster was filmed in London due to the pesky lil pandemic, so a bunch of actors found themselves unable to be involved. And, while you’d assume (and many of the actors did) that all auditions would need to be done topless, the casting directors said this wasn’t the case. 

“We needed actors who could get the fact that our Barbies only knew pleasant things… pure in thought and pure in emotion,” Allison said. “We were like, ‘No, no, it’s not about that. You don’t have to [be topless],” added Lucy. 

Who was supposed to play Allan in Barbie?

Michael Cera played the role of the outcast Mattel doll Allan, who IMO, was cast perfectly. However, he wasn’t Lucy and Allison’s first choice, and they originally offered the role to Glee’s Jonathan Groff. 

“Dear, dear Jonathan Groff was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m typing this, but I can’t do Allan’,” Allison said.

While I’m gutted that we didn’t get to see Dan Levy as the “Ew, David” Ken, I’m quietly chuffed with our Allan.

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Image credits: Warner Bros, Barbie