Movies

Matt Bomer Doesn't Regret Passing On Barbie: 'Just Too Much Time Away'

Matt Bomer Doesn't Regret Passing On Barbie: 'Just Too Much Time Away'
Image credit: Legion-Media, Warner Bros.

It all worked out for the best.

Summary:

  • Greta Gerwig's Barbie premiered in the U.S. in July 2023.
  • The movie has become an internet sensation and has been well-received by both critics and general audiences.
  • Matt Bomer, who originally auditioned for the role of Ken but had to turn it down, doesn't regret his decision.

It's hard to deny that no matter how many great movies were released this year, there was no bigger event than Barbie. The simultaneous premiere of two drastically different genres, aesthetics, and casts, Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan 's Oppenheimer, sent all movie lovers into a frenzy of excitement.

The phenomenon, rooted in memes and fan posters, soon found its way into reality. People bought T-shirts with Oppenheimer prints, dressed up in theaters, and planned their visits around a single day to get the whole experience. Whether they liked the movies or not didn't matter as long as they had fun.

One can only imagine how bad it must be for those celebrities who didn't make the cut for these movies and didn't have the chance to experience it all firsthand. But some of them, like Matt Bomer, who invested a lot in his Barbie audition and then had to give it up, aren't so bummed.

Why Wasn’t Matt Bomer In Barbie?

Matt Bomer Doesn't Regret Passing On Barbie: 'Just Too Much Time Away' - image 1

During his recent appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show, the White Collar star once again explained the story behind his Barbie audition. The actor was very interested in Ken and went through several rounds of self-taping in different outfits representing different Kens. This got him a call from Greta Gerwig.

However, he was later forced to pass on this amazing opportunity in order to focus on something much more important:

“I was talking with Greta, I was looking forward to doing it, and then the things in development came to fruition, and I would have been away from my family for a year, which was just too much time away. <...> But I think they made a perfect movie, and it was cast perfectly,” Bomer said.

While he missed out on Barbie, the actor played not one, but two standout roles on both television and film. His performance as Hawk Fuller in Fellow Travelers has now been recognized with both Critics Choice and Golden Globe nominations, while Bradley Cooper 's Maestro has Oscar aspirations.

If you want to see Matt Bomer in action, you can stream Fellow Travelers on Paramount Plus with Showtime or wait until December 20 when Maestro hits Netflix.

Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon