Actor Ryan Gosling said Tuesday that he is “extremely honored” to be up for an Oscar for his performance in last year’s hit film “Barbie,” but criticized the decision not to recognize his costar Margot Robbie or the film’s director, Greta Gerwig.
Gosling was nominated in the best supporting actor category for his portrayal of Ken in the box office hit. The film also earned America Ferrera an Oscar nomination in the best supporting actress category.
The nominations were among eight for the film, including for best picture. Critics, however, noticed two glaring omissions: Gerwig was not nominated for her directing and Robbie was not nominated in the best lead actress category.
In a statement shared with outlets including CNN and The Hollywood Reporter, Gosling said he was “incredibly honored and proud” to be nominated for his role as Ken.
“But there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film,” he said. “No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius.
“To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement. Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.”
Though Gerwig and Robbie were not nominated in their individual categories, they did get nods from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Gerwig was nominated alongside her husband, Noah Baumbach, in the adapted screenplay category while Robbie was nominated as a producer of the film for best picture.
Ferrera told Variety that she was stunned and proud to be nominated for an Oscar, though she was also “incredibly disappointed” that Gerwig and Robbie didn’t get their expected recognition. She said Gerwig “has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. ... Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list.”
She added that Robbie is “a master” at acting and brought “so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun” to the role of Barbie.
“What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable,” Ferrera said, according to Variety. “One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did.”
Winners for the 96th Academy Awards will be announced March 10 in a ceremony at Ovation Hollywood in California. Jimmy Kimmel will serve as host.
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