Margot Robbie wasn’t first choice for ‘Barbie’

'Barbie' screengrab

Margot Robbie has revealed that she wasn’t the first choice to play the lead role in Barbie.

The actor, who was also a producer on the movie, recently told Vogue that both her and director Greta Gerwig initially wanted Gal Gadot for the role but scheduling conflicts got in the way.

“Gal Gadot is Barbie energy. Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork,” she said.

The Wonder Woman star has since responded, saying she was flattered to be offered the role despite turning it down.

Gal Gadot at the premiere of ‘Barbie’ held at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on July 9, 2023 in Los Angeles, California CREDIT: Christopher Polk/WWD via Getty Images

She told Flaunt magazine: “I adore Margot. Margot is one of those women who you just want to be friends with. She is so funny, warm, fun and smart and obviously so talented. She brings so much to the table. I would love to do anything with Margot and was very touched [by her comments]. She warmed my heart with everything that she said about me. I’m super excited for them, and I’m so excited for Barbie.”

It was also recently revealed by Variety that Saturday Night Live‘s Bowen Yang, Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy and Dear Evan Hansen‘s Ben Platt were all in the running to play a version of Ken in the film but scheduling logistics prevented the castings from happening.

Meanwhile, the Barbie was banned in Kuwait earlier this week and now faces calls for a ban in Lebanon amid complaints in the Arab nations about the film’s social values.

It recently hit the $1billion dollar mark at the global box office, just two weeks after its release.

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