(CNN) — Margot Robbie is the protagonist of the highly anticipated movie “Barbie” and spoke about her with Vogue.
For the magazine’s summer cover interview, the star spoke about the fight to bring the film to the big screen, how his production company — LuckyChap — finally got the long-discussed project off the ground, and about his own role through time to convince Greta Gerwig to write (along with her partner, Noah Baumbach) and direct it.
“Of course, we want to honor the 60-year legacy of this brand, but we have to recognize that there are a lot of people who aren’t Barbie fans. In fact, those people aren’t just indifferent to Barbie,” Robbie said. And he added: “They actively hate Barbie. And they have a real problem with Barbie. So we have to find a way to acknowledge it.”
Robbie plays the popular Mattel doll, along with Ryan Gosling as Ken, Barbie’s boyfriend.
As Gosling told Vogue, Robbie found a sweet way to help him get into character.
“He left a pink gift with a pink bow, from Barbie to Ken, every day of the shoot. They were all beach related,” Gosling said. “Things like puka shells, or a sign that said ‘Pray for surf’. Because Ken is dedicated exclusively to the beach. She had never really understood what that meant. But she was trying to help Ken understand it, through These gifts”.
Robbie also needed help finding her inner Barbie. For that, she said Gerwig encouraged her to listen to the “This American Life” podcast.
“I was like, ‘Greta, I need to meet the character,'” Robbie recalls. “And Greta said to me: ‘I have a very good podcast for you. Do you know that you have a voice in your head all the time? This woman does not have that voice in her head.'”
“Barbie” hits theaters on July 21.
