Ryan Gosling says Barbie is the "hardest role" he's done

Barbie's Ryan Gosling says Ken was the "hardest role" of his career so far.

Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie became a box office phenomenon last summer with both Gosling and Margot Robbie (as the eponymous doll) offering unforgettable performances, not to mention a certain beloved song – the former even received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at this year's Oscars.

Speaking to Variety, the Canadian star reflected: "It's the hardest role I've ever had to play. It was like a high-wire act – in tiny shorts and no shirt – with no net.

"I wanted to make sure if I was going to do it – I was like, 'I can't mess this up. I can't be the guy that messed up the Barbie movie.' So if I'm going to do it, I have to do more than I know that I'm even capable of."

The actor went on to share: "In some way, everything I've done led to it. And I can't believe I'm saying that. There were moments when I would do it where I'd think, 'I haven't felt like I've worked this hard since Blue Valentine.

"There were moments when I left Blue Valentine just completely emotionally spent, laying on the floor of the car on the ride home just done – empty. And it was even harder to play Ken. And I thought, 'How am I feeling that on this film?'"

Released in 2010, Blue Valentine saw Gosling play a heavy-drinking husband during the dissolution of a marriage.

Gosling also revealed he he initially passed on the part of Ken.

"There were actual reasons why I couldn't do the film," he said. "Schedule things. Life things. And I would call months later to my agents or something and say, 'Hey, who did they get to play Ken?' And they would say, 'Greta says it's you.'"