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Hari Nef Shares Heartfelt Letter That Landed Her Barbie Movie Role
"Barbie’s the standard; she’s The Girl; she’s certainly THE doll."
The trailer for the upcoming Barbie movie premiered yesterday and effectively broke the internet.
Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrel, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Helen Miren, and many more star in the film, and the trailer spread across the internet like rapid fire. People are already obsessed, and we're three months out from the film's release!
Hari Nef, the breakout star of the Emmy-winning series Transparent, also stars in the film – and she shared her gratitude on social media.
"hi dolls! it's me, barbie. this barbie is a doctor," she wrote on Instagram. "when i heard i was cast as a barbie in the barbie movie, it looked like i was maybe not going to be able to do the film because of a scheduling conflict. so i wrote greta and margot a letter essentially begging them to fudge the schedule a little bit, as i had big feelings about wanting to join this film."
Nef then shared a bit of the letter she wrote to Robbie and director Greta Gerwig.
"'This is a big movie, made by a team whose work has played no small role in cultivating my love of sitting in the dark in front of big screens for an hour or two. But that’s just a part of why I want–my heart says “need”–to join in the making of this film. Identity politics and cinema aren’t my favorite combination, but the name BARBIE looms large over every American woman. Barbie’s the standard; she’s The Girl; she’s certainly THE doll. Me and my girlfriends–okay, yeah, me and my other transgender girlfriends– we started calling ourselves “the dolls” a couple of years ago, though the phrase stretches back into the language of our foremothers in the ballroom scene. "The Dolls." Maybe it's a bid to ratify our femininity, to smile and sneer at the standards we’re held to as women. It’s a joke, of course; we throw our voices: “the do-o-lls!” But underneath the word “doll” is the shape of a woman who is not quite a woman–recognizable as such, but still a fake. “Doll” is fraught, glamorous; she is, and she isn’t. We call ourselves “the dolls” in the face of everything we know we are, never will be, hope to be. We yell the word because the word matters. And no doll matters more than Barbie.'"
Fans are rallying around Nef in the comments. Co-star and Love, Simon star Alexandra Shipp wrote, “I love this letter and you, brilliant Dr Barbie.”The official Mattel Barbie account added, “It’ll be so worth the wait”.
Barbie premieres in theaters July 21. Watch the trailer below:
Barbie | Teaser Trailer 2www.youtube.com
The movie currently has a PG-13 rating.
It's not completely clear, but the IMDB description reads, "A doll living in 'Barbieland' is expelled for not being perfect enough and sets off on an adventure in the real world."
Yes, Dua Lipa is starring in the upcoming Barbie film.
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
