Bros Star Luke Macfarlane Passed on Barbie Role for Other Projects

Luke Macfarlane as a Ken in the Barbie movie... it almost happened!

In recent years, Macfarlane has had a growing list of high-profile acting credits, including the TV show Platonic, a slew of Hallmark movies, and last year’s buzzworthy gay rom-com, Bros.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor also almost had a role in the upcoming Greta Gerwig film, Barbie. However, he ultimately had to leave that opportunity in the dust.

“I was cast in Bros for a very long time,” he said while addressing how the lockdown held things up. And yet, Macfarlane stayed in contact with director Nick Stoller. “And then when we were filming Bros, I knew that he was pitching this show [Platonic] with Rose [Byrn] and Seth [Rogen], but he never mentioned it to me really in any detail.”

He continued, “It was interesting because I had auditioned for a small part in Barbie and got it. And then I got an email from Nick that was like, ‘I think you’d be really great in this part.’ I was like, ‘Great. I have this offer for Barbie, so you gotta let me know.’”

From there, the two tried to make things work, and Macfarlane found that he really wanted to work on the show. “Careers are funny things,” he said. “You really never know. When I read about the character on the page, I was like, ‘This is somebody I understand.’”

When it came to Barbie, it was “one of those brutal things” where timing simply couldn’t work out for both.

“I’m not trying to sound boastful,” he said. “It was a small, little part, but I’ve never been part of some beautiful, big, cool thing like that. It would have been cool to be able to do both.”