Ferrera emerges as ‘Barbie’s’ secret weapon
Actor’s role pivotal to film’s existential examination of icon
As a child with a precocious mind for makebelieve, America Ferrera never felt like a Barbie girl in a Barbie world.
She didn’t have Barbie dolls at home — her family couldn’t afford them, Ferrera says. She played with them only while visiting a cousin’s house. So co-starring in a blockbuster about the enduring American symbol of girlhood, in all its bubblegum-pink glory, wasn’t wish-fulfillment for her.
“I don’t really remember the Barbie world ever resonating with me,” Ferrera says. “I imagine that’s because I didn’t feel very represented or reflected by it. Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be part of a Barbie movie. I was the little girl who didn’t see myself in the mainstream culture around me, and I know how important it is to feel seen.”
Ferrera may not have grown up turning to the 11 ½-inch doll at playtime, but her role as Gloria, a lifetime Barbie lover and assistant to the chief executive of Mattel in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” is pivotal to the film’s existential examination of the complicated icon. Gloria, a working mother struggling to find purpose as her teen daughter grows older, finds herself on a parallel journey of self-discovery with Barbie (Margot Robbie) as the doll journeys outside of Barbie Land into the real world.
And now, as an adult, Ferrera finally has her first Barbie. A number of collectible figures were created by Mattel to celebrate
“Barbie’s” release, including one in the likeness of Ferrera’s character, complete with flowing black hair, hoop earrings and an all-pink power suit.
“It felt so like surreal, I don’t even know what it means,” says Ferrera. “I couldn’t really wrap my mind around it. There’s a Honduran Barbie doll now. That really matters.”
This interview with Ferrea, which took place before the actors strike, has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: Tell me how this project came to you. A:
It was kind of a miracle. Things like this have rarely, if ever, happened in my career, where you just get a phone call from some fabulous director who says, “I have a part and I want you to play it.” That kind of thing doesn’t often happen for Latinas in this industry. There are so few roles created for us, and it’s not in $100 million movies that are about cultural icons.
Exploring it through Gloria’s eyes just felt like a
magical gift that we never get in our culture — and if we do get it, we have to make it, we have to create it and we have to push for why it matters. So to get the script was just unexpected. Really, my first thought was, “They’re never gonna let (Gerwig) make this.”
Q: I’m curious to know how Gloria was described in the script. What struck you about her? A:
She shows up on, like, Page 30, and the way Greta introduced her on the page was with her shoes. I believe it said something like, “This is Gloria, we love her immediately.” And I was like, “I do love her immediately.” She’s wearing these pink shoes under her desk, in this incredibly male, sterile corporate environment, and you know she’s got this vibrancy and enthusiasm that she has to hide away.
Gloria is an adult woman who feels this deep connection to Barbie, something that made her feel aspirational, optimistic, but that she feels she’s not
allowed to have, because she’s grown, because it’s complicated, because she’s complex: I love this thing, but I’m going to hide it. It feels very resonant with the whole (theme) of all of us getting to be more of what we are, without apology.
Q: Gloria and Barbie are on similar journeys. And they’ve been conditioned to present as if everything’s OK. As an actor, or even as a mom, do you understand that impulse to give the appearance that everything is fine? A:
What they do for each other is release each other from an impossible assignment: to be a thing. And we need to hear that. Men, women, all genders — we’re given roles. And because of our nature, or whatever it is, I’m not a psychologist, we do the assignment. And to get to a place where you’re like, “This is an impossible assignment, and I’m sick of it,” that’s the deeper invitation for the audience.
I feel like that’s what resonated with me the
most, this permission to be unapologetically all of the things that we are. That’s what Greta is. She’s this Academy Award-nominated director, who probably feels all this pressure to make the next big thing. And she’s like, “I’m gonna go do (expletive) ‘Barbie,’ and watch me.
Q: Greta is known for putting thoughtful monologues about girlhood and womanhood in her films. Your Gloria is given one. There’s the line where she says: “I’m just so tired of watching myself, and every single other woman, tie herself into knots so that people will like us.” How did you feel when you read those words on the page? A:
When I first read it, it just hit me as the truth. There’s no woman in my life who those words aren’t true for. Not a single one. So it felt like a gift. And it felt very intimidating, because Greta was like, “I hope you enjoy the script. Also, there’s a monologue that Meryl Streep said she’d like to do, but it’s for your character. So, enjoy.” And I’m like, “What?”
Actually, what Greta said to me was, “Meryl Streep said that this was the kind of monologue she has been waiting her whole career to say” — something like that, which put the pressure on early. All that’s said in the monologue is just the truth. And when we hear the truth, it hits in a certain way, and you can’t unhear it, right?
Q: Not to sound superficial, but obviously, the wardrobe is a significant part of this film. How is Gloria telling us a story with her clothes? A:
Gloria had this desire to express, but it was very hidden. So the shoes are under the desk, and when you first meet her, waist up, she’s exactly what she’s supposed to be in that space. Everything that’s fun about her is hidden. She’s wearing a sparkly pink belt, but underneath the blazer. And this is the moment that blew my mind, because I said to (costume designer) Jacqueline (Durran), “I love that moment with the shoes under the desk. How do we bring that more alive?” Then she just came back with a shirt mullet. It was business out front and party underneath. In the scene, you see the blue lapels, but in the next scene where the blazer comes off, it’s white and pink pinstripe. And you find a glittery belt. And it was like, “Yes!”
Q: What was it like stepping onto those Barbie Land sets? A:
It’s like a shot of dopamine. It’s like a candy shop. It’s like I ate a cake and I want more cake. It’s so beautiful. It’s the sets, but then it’s the clothes. All of it. And the wig room was unbelievable. It was just hair everywhere. Barbie has a lot of hair.