The Actor Who Almost Played Barbie's Allan Before Michael Cera
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To be a part of director Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" is to be a part of cinema history. Based on the Mattel doll of the same name, Gerwig's movie managed to bring the toy to the big screen in 2023, turning her into an absolute pop culture sensation, with the help of Margot Robbie in the title role. It ultimately went on to become the biggest box office hit of 2023 overall, taking in a shocking $1.44 billion worldwide and landing numerous Oscar nods (including one for Best Picture).
Aside from Robbie, the film is filled to the brim with incredible actors, including Ryan Gosling as Ken and an army of remarkable actors playing various versions of Barbie, like Kate McKinnon as "Weird Barbie." The movie also features quite a few actors playing alternate versions of Ken, with Michael Cera helping to round out the ensemble as Allan. Shy and the complete opposite of Ken in many ways, audiences quickly fell in love with Cera's character.
But while Cera was the one who eventually got to put his stamp on the role and become a part of cinema history in the process, he wasn't the first actor in the mix for the part. In fact, he was actually a bit of a last-minute casting choice, with another actor having almost nabbed the role of Allan before him. That actor? None other than Jonathan Groff.
Mindhunter star Jonathan Groff almost played Allan in Barbie
In a July 2023 piece from Vanity Fair breaking down the casting process for "Barbie," it's explained that because of COVID-19 protocols, the film's cast had to be in London for three months. At the time, Hollywood coronavirus protocols were still extremely strict, which is something actors had to consider before signing on for any project. In fact, the likes of Bowen Yang ("SNL") and Dan Levy ("Schitt's Creek") were taken out of the mix as a result of the three-month stay in London.
"Mindhunter" star Jonathan Groff was also one of the actors who had to pass on the film due to the logistics of the production. "Dear, dear Jonathan Groff was like, 'I can't believe I'm typing this, but I can't do Allan,'" casting director Allison Jones explained. So, had the filming conditions been different, or had Groff managed to work around those conditions, it would have been him playing Allan instead of Cera.
Groff is arguably best known as the voice of Kristoff in "Frozen" and "Frozen II," but those who are accustomed to binge-watching dramas on Netflix will surely know him as Holden Ford from "Mindhunter." He also played Smith in 2021's "The Matrix Resurrections," while some of his other noteworthy credits include "Doctor Who" and "Knock at the Cabin." So, it's hard to say his career has suffered, but this certainly would have been a movie he'd love to have under his belt. Be that as it may, Groff's loss turned out to be Cera's gain.
Michael Cera was cast in Barbie at the last minute
Michael Cera was perhaps previously known best for his work in the hit comedy "Superbad," but taking on the role of Allan in "Barbie" helped reinvigorate his career in a big way. It's all the more amazing that the whole thing was described as a "very last-minute casting" by Cera.
In a 2024 interview with GQ, Cera broke down his career and he provided a lot of insight as to how he landed the role of Allan, a surprisingly important, short-lived part of Barbie's history. It seems, at first, the actor's manager nearly blew the whole thing, with Cera explaining:
"My manager got a call checking on my availability for it, and he called me and he said, 'I got a call about this movie. It's the 'Barbie' movie. Greta Gerwig's directing it, and it's filming in London for four months of something, so I told them you probably wouldn't want to do it because you probably don't want to go to London.'"
"I was like, 'What! Call them back!'" Cera continued. "He didn't like blow it or anything, but he's like, 'I managed their expectations that you might not want to do it.' I was like, 'How can I not do it? I need to do it!'" Cera then took matters into his own hands and emailed Gerwig directly:
"I emailed her like, 'Can I be in it? Can I do that part?' And she was like, 'Let's get on a Zoom right now. Here's a Zoom link, I'll be on there for the next hour.' So, she was just hanging out on the Zoom, like, 'Click the link whenever you're ready.' And then we talked about it, and it just all happened really fast from there."
The rest is history. Whether "Barbie 2" happens or not still remains to be seen, but Cera has said he'd be open to appearing in an Allan spin-off. "I think it would be kind of a weird movie, but I'm there," as the actor admitted during an appearance on "The Tonight Show" in 2024. "He's kind of like an inactive character. He kind of just stands [there]. For me, the biggest inspiration for the character was Hans Moleman, that character in 'The Simpsons.'"