Why ‘Lawyer Barbie’ Sharon Rooney never wants to leave Barbieland behind

This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

BY NOW, WE’RE sure you’ve seen the pink-hued fantasy that is Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Barbie (and if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?).

The dazzling, kitschy film has been a box office smash, opening to a record-setting USD$155 million (about AUD$236 million) in the United States alone, making it the biggest debut of the year to date, and the biggest opening weekend ever for a film directed by a woman. Memes about it are all over your social media, no doubt, and it’s been garnering plenty of rave reviews from critics across the world.

But perhaps Barbie‘s greatest impact — and legacy, in time — is not its box office success, critical acclaim, or social media domination. Maybe its more meaningful aftershock comes in the effect it’s had on people around the world who have been offered the opportunity, through the film’s diverse casting, to see themselves represented on-screen in such a positive way for the first time. And that sentiment is one that certainly rung true for one of the stars of the film — Glaswegian actor Sharon Rooney, who plays one of Barbieland’s many perfect inhabitants.

“I think for me, in my head I thought, little me would love this. Little me would be like, there’s me as a Barbie!” the actor told me over Zoom ahead of the film’s release.

“And I just think for everyone, we all still have that inner child, right? She’s still in there. And now’s her time to shine.”

Rooney first made waves in My Mad Fat Diary, the criminally underrated British teen drama that ran from 2013 to 2015 (if you haven’t watched it, we ask again: What are you waiting for?). The series was inspired by the diaries of writer Rae Earl, who lends her name to the show’s protagonist who Rooney played. Rae is a loud-mouthed, music-loving, boy-crazy 16-year-old, who has just spent four months in a mental health facility — and who will do anything to hide her fraying health from her friends. She’s played to erratic perfection by Rooney, who navigates the nuances of the role in an impressively effortless way. To this day, if you scroll through Rooney’s Instagram, you’ll find fans leaving comments on every post, noting how much the series has meant to them and thanking her for portraying the complex issue of teen mental illness in such an authentic way.

Regardless of her success on the series — and her subsequent roles, including on BBC’s TV series Jerk, Tim Burton’s live-action Dumbo, and Prime Video’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain — she never predicted that an opportunity to work on a project as large-scale as Barbie would come knocking. It wasn’t until she joined her fellow Barbies for a pre-filming sleepover that the reality of it began to sink in. “Honestly, I think I pinched myself a few times that night,” she admits. “Because I was just like, is this real?”

Ahead of the film’s premiere, we caught up with Rooney to chat all things Barbie — from her experience on-set (“It was heaven,” she gushes) to working with Margot Robbie (whom she describes as “the most generous and kindest soul”) — and reflect on the decade that’s passed since My Mad Fat Diary‘s debut, and the enduring legacy of the series.

Harper’s BAZAAR: What was the Barbie audition process like, and how did you feel when you found out that you landed the role of lawyer Barbie?

Sharon Rooney: It was like any other normal audition in the sense that my agent messaged me and was like, I’ve got this really cool job. And then she said, so it’s Barbie, and it’s Greta Gerwig and Margot — and she just started saying all these things and I was like, this just cannot be a real thing.

So I did my audition and sent it off, and then she called a few days later and said, how would you like to do a film with Greta Gerwig?And I was like, Oh, very much — very, very much. It was just like any other ordinary audition, which sounds so bizarre when you think about what it is. Because just, every aspect of this is incredible, and not normal in any way, is it? Like, it’s massive and it’s so cool.

HB: The whole vision and aesthetic is so over the top. What was it like getting to play about on set with all of that, and with the fashion? Did you feel like you were kind of reconnecting with your child self?

SR: A hundred percent. It was as if I’d gone back into my younger self’s imagination and was living it.

I knew the sets would be incredible, of course they would be, but nothing prepared me for the first time seeing it. There was nothing on that set that wasn’t Barbie and perfect and detailed. Everything was so carefully thought out, and to actually stand in a Barbie Dreamhouse … it was just beyond amazing.

[Barbie] has just instilled in me that, YES, you can do ANYTHING you want, and you can BE EVERYTHING, if you want

Every single costume fitting, every time I sat in the makeup chair was — I mean, it sounds really cheesy — but it is kind of like a dream come true! When you’re little and you think, Oh, I want to be an actress, that’s the kind of thing that you think it would be like, and often it’s not like that. But Barbie was so different. It was just such a wonderful job. And every single person, from crew to cast, was just lovely. I mean, it does all sound a little bit sugar-coated and sickly sweet, but it truly was like being in Barbieland. Maybe it’s the pink! Maybe that’s what it is. It just makes people happy.

HB: Like a positive virus infecting you all.

SR: It really was such a happy job. I always say it comes from the top though — whoever’s leading the way sets the tone. And I think when you’ve got someone like Greta, and then Margot and Ryan and America, all these wonderful people leading it; it just filters down, and that positivity and that fun filters down.

HB: What were your fondest memories from set?

SR: There’s a big dance number… We shot it over a few days, I think three or four days. And you would think that we would not be in a good mood by the end of that. We all had sore feet, of course, but we were still giggling, having fun.

And the dancing — I mean, it was just another layer. Like, not only are you making this film with people that you’ve looked up to for such a long time, but you’re also getting to dance in a crystal, gold jumpsuit. It was so much fun. Anytime I was with the Barbies — and the Kens, but mainly the Barbies — it was just fun.

We had a Barbie sleepover as well, in the beginning. And that was… Honestly, I think I pinched myself a few times that night. Because I was just like, is this real? Like, this is the best night.

HB: It sounds like the dynamic on set, especially between the Barbies, was so uplifting. What was it like to be able to meet and work with such a wonderful group of women?

SR: I feel really lucky, and really honoured that I got to be one of those Barbies in that group of such wonderful women.

We’re all different, and we all bring different things to the table. There’s a little bit of Barbie in us which makes us the same, but we’re all different, which I love. And there’s so many Barbies in the film! I think anyone can watch this film and see a Barbie that they relate to.

HB: Yes! One of the most exciting things about the film is the diversity of the cast, and it feels so natural. How did it feel to walk on set and see all these Barbies and Kens who reflect such a real population?

SR: It was the best feeling ever. I think for me, in my head I thought, little me would love this. Little me would be like, there’s me as a Barbie! And I just think for everyone, we all still have that inner child, right? She’s still in there. And now’s her time to shine.

Everyone on that set looked wonderful, because they felt wonderful, because they are wonderful. And I just think that the Barbie perfection comes from inside. You know, it’s in there, we have it. And now it’s time to let it out.

HB: That’s beautiful. Were there any other major takeaways you had from your experience on set?

SR: I mean, I always loved Barbie growing up. And I didn’t look like her at all — we don’t even have the same colour hair! But I just thought she was so cool because she was everything. I mean, she was so smart, and she had a cool house, and a cool car. She was an actress, and a singer, and a doctor, and a vet; she was all these things.

And then I grew up a little bit and thought, well, you can’t be everything. And this has just instilled in me that, yes, you can. You can do anything you want, and you can be everything if you want. You just have to try. So there’s definitely certain things that I’m gonna try. I’m going to work hard, and if they don’t go well, it doesn’t matter, because I’ve tried.

What I loved about being a Barbie was that there was just a collectiveness of support. Like when we were doing the dance scene — and no one told us to do this, but it just came naturally — whenever someone was doing their bit, there was a constant cheering and a constant support. And that’s what it’s felt like since I’ve left Barbie. You just constantly have people cheering you on in your corner, and I think that’s the best thing. You can’t always hear the cheering, but it is there.

It was heaven. If I could live there, I would. Happiest place on earth.

HB: What was it like working with Greta and Margot, specifically?

SR: Margot is everything you hope and think she will be and more. I don’t have enough words to describe Margot Robbie. I just am in awe of everything that she does. She’s just the most wonderful human. Obviously she’s ridiculously talented — I don’t know how one person can be that talented and that beautiful — but she’s also the most generous and kindest soul. She’s just — she is everything, and more.

And working with Greta has been genuinely a dream come true for me. Watching her work was an honour, honestly. And to be directed by her, I don’t have words for how much it meant it meant to me. And she’s so fun too!

She’s just so clever in how she directs. She’s so clear and her vision is so wonderful and strong, that everyone’s right there with her. This film is her — she put her everything into this film and she’s a phenomenon. I feel like this is like the Barbie takeover and I’m so here for it.

HB: You’re no stranger to work that is very subversive in its approach. In the past you’ve worked on the TV show Jerk, which subverts the idea that all disabled people are saints or ‘inspiration porn’, and on My Mad Fat Diary you helped to create a portrait of mental illness that was refreshingly honest without being gratuitous. What draws you to to these types of projects?

SR: I just love — and this is going to sound strange, because I’ve just talked about playing a Barbie — but I just like playing real people.

Like you said, like, just because Tim [the protagonist of Jerk] has a disability, and just because my character is his carer, doesn’t mean we don’t fight. It doesn’t mean he’s not annoying sometimes. It doesn’t mean that I’m not annoying, because we’re people. We’re human. And just because Rae [in My Mad Fat Diary] has a mental illness, and just because she struggles sometimes, doesn’t mean that she’s not actually also just a teenager and just irritating.

So I love playing characters who have faults, because they do, you know? Humans do have faults and we’re not all perfect — Barbie aside.

HB: This year marked 10 years since the first episode of My Mad Fat Diary aired. What does that feel like?

SR: Crazy, isn’t it? It makes me feel old. It was a reality check, I was like, whoa. Since I’ve been so lucky and I’ve been so busy and I’ve been working, the time genuinely flies. It goes so fast that I still find it hard to believe it’s been ten years.

But I also find it amazing that people are still just finding the show. That kind of blows my mind, that I get messages really regularly from people saying, Oh, I just found My Mad Fat Diary, I just watched it — because they were too young to watch it ten years ago, which also makes me feel slightly ill.

But yeah, I think because it’s set in the ‘90s and the music’s so good, it just makes it last, so people can still find it — although it is classed as a period drama, which also makes me feel ill.

I just like playing WHOLE humans who are good sometimes, and who make MISTAKES, because I just think it’s MORE REAL

HB: How have your takeaways from that show — personal or professional — stuck with you since?

SR: It was my first big job, so everything that I’ve taken forward has come from that. I was so lucky that I had Claire Rushbrook [who played Rae’s mum] and Ian Hart [who played her therapist] as my guides. They literally taught me everything I know, because they just took me under their wing. And I’ll be forever grateful to them.

My Mad Fat Diary was quite the first job — it was hectic, and wonderful. But I don’t think I’ll ever not have Rae in my life, because I think she means so much to so many people. And I’m okay with that. Because, unfortunately, the issues that she faced will never go away, and people will always have those issues, so I’m glad that she is there. And I’m forever grateful that I got that job and I got that opportunity.

And I thought if I can help one person, then I’ll have done my job, and I’ll be so happy. And I think we helped more than one.

HB: I think you helped many more.

SR: That’s like, my biggest achievement in my whole life. It means more than anyone will ever know to me, that show. It’s too special to let it go. And I’m forever thankful for it.

HB: A few years ago on Instagram, you posted about your role in Tim Burton’s Dumbo, and you wrote that somebody once told you that “things like that don’t happen to people like you”. How does it feel to continue to prove them wrong?

SR: I think people thought I meant something different. I just meant like, I’m just a normal girl from a normal family. And I’m very stubborn — I think it’s the Glaswegian in me — so I always want to do things my way, and I always wanted to be an actress. And I just had so many people being like, yeah, but things like that don’t happen to people like you.

I didn’t know anyone in my family that acted, I didn’t know any actors at all. I didn’t want to move to London, I didn’t want to do all the things that people thought you typically had to do. I just wanted to do it my way, and I was like, I’ll find my own way. And I somehow have. I somehow did, Dani. I don’t know how, but I did.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Related: Amy Schumer reveals why she dropped out of the ‘Barbie’ movie