Olivia Colman was supposed to have a cameo in the Barbie movie, according to Helen Mirren. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
Whether Barbie movie narrator Helen Mirren has revealed that Olivia Colman was originally supposed to appear in the Greta Gerwig film, but her hilarious cameo was ultimately cut.
As well as its record-breaking box-office figures, its brilliant original soundtrack, and its laugh-out-loud script, the Barbie movie has been celebrated by fans for its incredible star-studded cast.
Alongside stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera, the film boasted beloved actors like Will Ferrell, Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, Hari Nef, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Be-Adir, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, and Jamie Demetriou – to name but a few.
But there were some other big names who didn’t end up making the final cut – including Academy Award winner Olivia Colman.
Speaking to Variety, Mirren revealed that, in the original script, she as the narrator would have been interrupted by Colman.
“It was a very funny scene with Olivia Colman sort of playing drunk and us clashing about who is the real grande dame of British actresses,” Mirren revealed.
“She comes in and tries to take over the role of the Narrator and I had to fight her off.”
While it’s a shame that a fight between Olivia Colman and Helen Mirren will forever remain in the vault, Mirren does get plenty more time to shine throughout the Barbie movie.
And Olivia Colman is far from the only actor who had originally been planning to make a cameo in the film.
For example, Greta Gerwig revealed in an interview with CinemaBlend that she had written a “specialty cameo” for her Ladybird and Little Women stars Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet, but both of the actors were unfortunately too busy to commit.
“I love them so much,” Gerwig told the outlet. “But it felt like doing something without my children. I mean, I’m not their mom, but I sort of feel like their mom.”
Similarly, casting director Allison Jones spilled to Vanity Fair that she had originally been hoping that actors Ben Platt, Bowen Yang, and Dan Levy could appear in the film as Kens, but scheduling conflicts meant that it couldn’t be.
Most recently – and perhaps most unexpectedly – Michael Cera, who plays Allan in the film, revealed that Ben Affleck was originally supposed to make a cameo during his hilarious fight scene.
Cera told the Happy Sad Confused podcast this week that, in the original script, Allan wasn’t even supposed to fight off the Kens, as he does in the finished motion picture.
“Am I allowed to say what was supposed to be? It was supposed to be Ben Affleck. Am I allowed to say that?” he said.
Unfortunately, Affleck was directing his movie Air at the time, so his cameo couldn’t be, meaning Cera’s Allan had to fend for himself against the construction Kens.
“I think Ben wanted to do it, but he was directing his movie, but they didn’t find that out until the 11th hour,” Cera recalled.
“They’re like, ‘OK, Ben is out. Something has to happen here, so you’re gonna fight them.’
“I had to jump in with the stunt team. I had just gotten over COVID, and they had me training, and I almost died just doing a warm-up. I had to lie down in the trailer, and they sent a nurse to see me, and I was sent home. So then we had a second rehearsal, and I learned it.”
Ever the professional is Michael Cera.
Still, all these failed cameos make us wonder what could have been for the Barbie movie.