America Ferrera did that epic Barbie monologue ‘30 to 50 times’

America Ferrera: I was just so taken by the fact that Greta chose to make an adult woman’s perspective factor in in a big way. I think when we think of Barbie and who has a relationship to Barbie, we think of young children playing with toys and not necessarily the adults they grow up to become. So many of our thoughts and ideas about Barbie, positive or negative, that we project onto it are about that long-term influence that we imagine her having on the culture. I was just really excited that there was room in the story for that perspective of an adult woman navigating womanhood in the real world, and also feeling connected to what Barbie stands for. And, in a way, trying to find the permission to keep loving it.

How did you work with Greta to develop the dynamic between Gloria and her daughter?

I remember a conversation with Greta and Noah [Baumbach, the film’s cowriter] early on, a very early conversation about Gloria and what this journey is for her. She and Noah really thought that her relationship with Sasha was the heart of why she needed this escapism and this journey, that her connection to her daughter was permission to play and be imaginative and love and play in a childlike world. As her daughter grows and pulls away from that, not only is Gloria losing a certain connection with her daughter, but she’s also losing her connection to what her daughter’s childhood gave her access to.

What did you first think when you read the monologue you’d have to recite?

It’s one of the first things Greta mentioned to me even before I read the script. She said, “I wrote this monologue for Gloria, and I’ve always imagined you saying this.” While that was flattering, it also felt like pressure in the nicest way. I read the monologue and it hit me as powerful and meaningful. It also felt like, wow, what a gift as an actor to get to deliver something that feels so cathartic and truthful. But it also felt like this pivotal moment that I obviously didn’t want to mess up. There was a little bit of healthy pressure around it.

Were there changes or tweaks made to it ahead of shooting as you guys talked it over?

There wasn’t that much to talk about because what she had written on the page just felt very true. But what I do remember is that we would share with each other articles, or episodes of TV shows, or podcasts that felt like this sentiment—the sentiment that Gloria delivers in the monologue, which is essentially the impossible assignment of being all things to all people. I did see the same sentiment all around, and we would share those pieces with each other.

I think for me, when it came time to shoot it, my big question was, “okay, so how are we playing this? Am I playing this slightly humorously? Am I trying to deliver it in a tone that still fits into the tone of Barbie Land?” I was a bit surprised when Greta really pushed me to be as real and grounded as possible and not make it feel like it’s the truth, but it’s Barbie Land pink truth. It was interesting that I initially felt that we wouldn’t just go as straightforward and real with it as we did, that I assumed that there might be a tone that maybe made it, I don’t know, I guess easier for people to hear or to swallow. Greta really didn’t want that. She wanted it to just sound like the truth.

What was the actual shoot like for the monologue?