Ryan Gosling surprises Greta Gerwig with Barbie and Ken flash mob for her birthday: 'That was so beautiful'

Ryan Gosling is still radiating Kenergy.

Just in time for her birthday, the actor sent his Barbie director Greta Gerwig one of the most Ken-etic gifts imaginable: a flash mob performing a mashup of songs from the hit film. Yes, in lieu of whipping out a guitar to serenade her for four hours, Gosling opted to gather a group of Kens and Barbies for a surprise dance number.

A video of the elaborate affair was shared on the official Instagram page for the Barbie movie with the caption, "As Kens know… Sometimes the only way to express your feelings is through song & dance!"

John Phillips/Getty, Gareth Cattermole/Getty Ryan Gosling; Greta Gerwig

The performance starts with the Kens gathering for a rendition of Gosling's Barbie song "I'm Just Ken" before a group of Barbies joins them for Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night," also featured in the movie. Afterwards, Gerwig appeared to be wiping tears of joy from her eyes as she hugged the dancers.

"That was so beautiful," she said, before asking, "Who are you?"

A voice behind the camera prompted Gerwig to guess who planned the flash mob, and when she said she had "no idea," they gave her a clue: "Think of a bagpiper."

The hint, which Gerwig immediately laughed at, is a reference to a gift Gosling recently sent members of the Barbie cast. During filming, Margot Robbie hosted a sleepover for her fellow Barbies — including Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, and America Ferrera. Keeping with the spirit of the movie, the Kens were not invited to spend the night, and Gosling, who was unable to stop by for a hello, sent a Scottish man to play the bagpipes and recite the classic Braveheart speech to the Barbies. Gerwig told the story in a GQ profile, saying Gosling "always can sense very quickly what would be the most delightfully funny thing to do next. And then he does it."

That comedic innovation is exactly why Gerwig tapped Gosling for the movie. The filmmaker previously said she wrote the part of Ken with Gosling in mind, to the point where his name appeared in the screenplay — even before she reached out to him about the role.

"We actually, in writing it, cast Ryan," Gerwig said on a recent episode of the SmartLess podcast. "Like, we wrote his name into the script and everything… And then when we handed them the script, the studio was like, 'Oh, it's so wonderful that you know Ryan.' And I was like, 'Oh, I don't know Ryan. I've never met Ryan. I have no idea.'"

She added, "You know those actors you can… just sort of feel that they know what's funny, and I always felt that about him."

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