Sex Education star Emma Mackey lands a role in Margot Robbie’s Barbie

Sex Education star Emma Mackey has joined the cast of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie alongside Margot Robbie, Will Ferrell, and Ryan Gosling.

Rumours of Mackey’s casting broke last month, amplifying the anticipation for the live-action toy movie.

On Monday (11 April), The Hollywood Reporter officially confirmed The Winter Lake actor’s involvement in the film. However, details of her character haven’t been disclosed so far.

According to the outlet, Robbie is portraying the fashion-forward doll, and Ferrell is playing “the CEO of a toy company that may or not be Mattel”.

The actors will be joined by a star-studded cast consisting of Gosling, Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu, Ghostbuster’s Kate McKinnon, X-Men’s Alexandra Shipp, and America Ferrera.

Robbie, who is widely known for her role as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, spoke to British Vogue last year about bringing Barbie to life.

She said: “It comes with a lot of baggage! And a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that come a lot of exciting ways to attack it.

“People generally hear Barbie and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t...’”

Production for Barbie is already underway, and plot details are mostly being kept in a Malibu dream house, but sources told THR that there’s a “meta aspect to the proceedings”.