Simu Liu couldn't keep up with fellow Ken, Ryan Gosling, in the 'Barbie' gym.
Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu gymed every day until the start of principal photography
Director Greta Gerwig thought it would be a fun idea to put the actors playing the real versions of the Ken doll in the live-action flick about the Mattel toys in the gym together to bond and channel their inner 'Kenergy'.
Simu, 34, told Men's Health: “It was just like, let’s work out, because that’s what I think ‘Kenergy’ is about. Kens would really care about that.
“So, just as an excuse to bring us all together and get us doing man things, Greta put us in a gym together, and we worked out every day leading up to the start of principal photography. And it was really fun."
Ryan - who plays the main Ken - was the "most disciplined" and worked on his physique out of hours, with his co-star describing his body as "pretty shredded".
He continued: “Ryan was the best inspiration, because he was the most disciplined. I could not beat Ryan to the gym.
“He was always there earlier than me and he always stayed later. It just speaks to the discipline that this guy has, and I think it really pays off in the movie. He’s got a couple scenes where you get to see a bit of that Ken body, and it’s pretty shredded.”
Heaping praise on the 'Drive' star's acting, Simu said: “Ryan is such a natural improviser, and he improvises in so many different ways, sometimes with words, but also he could say the exact same words on a script but in totally different and fresh and exciting ways."
The Marvel star says the 'La La Land' actor, 42, made him both "excited and scared" on set.
He explained: “It just really forced anybody playing opposite him to be fully present, and to listen. Because if you didn’t, you might miss something really incredible he was doing that would give you then, like, something to react off of or respond to, and I think that’s when acting is the least stale and the most exciting — when neither person goes into a scene fully knowing what’s going to happen.
“And with Ryan, I never knew what was gonna happen. That’s what both excited and scared me the most.”
'Barbie' hits cinemas on July 21.
Tagged in Ryan Gosling Greta Gerwig Simu Liu