Ryan Gosling Surprised Greta Gerwig With a Ken Flash Mob for Her 40th Birthday

Friends don’t let friends celebrate their birthdays without a healthy dose of Kenergy, which is exactly why Ryan Gosling just decided to surprise Greta Gerwig with a Ken-themed flash mob for her 40th trip around the sun.

On Friday, Aug. 4, the director was busy kicking off her birthday with a Pilates class when a group of Kens burst into the room to perform a Barbie-themed mashup courtesy of Gosling himself. After starting with a passionate rendition of “I’m Just Ken,” the music switched to Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” triggering a group of pink-clad Barbies to join in on the dance party fun. The group concluded their performance by shouting, “Happy birthday, Greta!” as the director cheered and laughed while wiping away tears.

“That was so beautiful,” Greta said in the clip, which was posted to the official Barbie movie TikTok page, before jokingly adding, “Who are you?”

"Guess who planned this?” Christine Crais, a producer on the film, asked off-camera. “I have no idea,” Greta said, to which Crais replied, “Think of the bagpipes,” in reference to when Gosling sent a bagpiper to a Barbie sleepover during production.

“As Kens know … Sometimes the only way to express your feelings is through song & dance,” the video’s caption read. “Ken Ryan sent these special Barbies and Kens to start Greta’s birthday with all the feelings!!”

Gosling’s flashmob wasn’t the only Barbie-themed present that Gerwig received this year. Days after her birthday, it was announced that Barbie had officially earned more than $1 billion in worldwide box office sales, marking the first time that a movie directed solely by a woman has hit the major milestone.