Barbie is getting ready to take the world by storm later this month, and part of the film’s appeal is how perfect Margot Robbie is as the titular blonde bombshell. A film about the iconic Mattel toy has been in the works for quite a few years, which means any number of actresses could have landed the role of Barbie before Robbie. While Greta Gerwig was always the production’s first choice for director, Robbie had to temper her expectations that she might not have been Gerwig’s first choice for Barbie—and she was completely okay with that prospect.

During a recent interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Robbie spoke about how she first signed on to produce Barbie, which didn’t guarantee her a role in the film. She explained:

“I didn’t want whoever our director was going to be – Greta being the first choice, but if she had said no – I didn’t want our director to feel pressured to put me in the role. So I was really upfront about like, ‘I won’t be offended in the slightest. We could go to anyone. Whatever story you want to tell and whoever you want that to be, I support that. I’ve got skin in the game as a producer, I don’t have skin in the game as an actor, so be free with that choice.'”

Robbie went on to say, “And [Gerwig] was like, ‘Shut up, I want to write this for you.’ And I was like, ‘You might feel pressured to say that…’ and we did that dance for a while. Then eventually, I just accepted that she did want me to play the role. Then she wrote it. She wrote me in, and she wrote Ryan in, and it was our names printed in the script from the get-go: “Barbie – Margot,” “Ken – Ryan Gosling.'” Audiences are just as lucky as Robbie, that Gerwig decided that this dynamic duo was the perfect fit for her Barbie and Ken.

Image via Warner Bros.

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What Is Barbie All About?
Barbie begins with the most iconic version of the doll (Margot Robbie) coming to the realization that her life of partying and going to the beach all the time might not be as fulfilling as she once thought. Since she isn’t going to find the answers she is looking for in Barbie Land, where all the variations of Barbie and Ken live, she embarks on a journey to the human world. What she never expected, however, was the version of Ken she was dating (Ryan Gosling) to tag along for the ride without telling her in advance. Now, the pair has to find a way to answer Barbie’s questions while also surviving the weird and wonderful dangers of a real-life city.

In addition to Robbie and Gosling, Barbie’s star-studded cast also features Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Hari Nef, John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, Emerald Fennell, and singer-songwriter Dua Lipa.

Barbie opens in theaters on July 21 Check out our interview with Robbie in the player above.