The rather surreal world of movie Barbie’s body double

LONDON – Emma Eastwood had just changed out of Barbie’s tight pink jumpsuit at the Warner Bros studio in London when she learnt that she had landed her most high-profile role yet: Barbie’s body double.

The news came via text from one of the casting directors of American director-actress Greta Gerwig’s new movie Barbie, starring Australian actress Margot Robbie as the eponymous toy doll, just hours after Eastwood auditioned for the role.

She had set her expectations low after they twice rescinded offers for her to be an extra, she said.

The 26-year-old actress, who grew up in San Francisco and now lives in London, had mostly worked on commercials, music videos and short films. Her role in Barbie, which opens in Singapore cinemas on July 20, marked her first time as a body double.

Any anxieties were assuaged on her first day on the set. She woke up before sunrise and, by 6am, she was on a minibus that transported her to the studio.

“My first couple of days, I got a bit of the star treatment,” she recalled, pointing out that she was one of the few people on set at the time.

“I felt really spoilt,” she said, adding that she was surprised to find out she had her own trailer.

In the casting world, body doubles are hired to fill in for actors who are not able or willing to film certain scenes. In other cases, stand-ins can help the production team save time and money.

“They’re not going to have Margot Robbie sit on a set while they’re doing lighting tests,” said Liz Lewis, a casting director who did not work on Barbie. “They’re going to pick somebody who has the same size, height and colouring.”

Eastwood was initially hired as Robbie’s hand double, but ended up taking on more robust scenes in which her whole body, aside from her face, was featured in the shot.

She said: “There were a couple of times they said the whole cast would be there and it would be an important day, but they never actually gave me any details of what we would be doing until I was on set.”

Eastwood’s main goal was to befriend Robbie in the hope of working as her body double on another film.

The pair, however, did not overlap often. While Eastwood filmed her scenes on one stage, Robbie was often filming hers on another.

Eastwood felt confident about her work.

She said people on set often mistook her for Robbie, including the actress herself. While looking back at footage, Robbie told her that, at some points, she thought she was watching herself.

And even if their schedules did not align, their measurements did. Every costume Eastwood wore was one that Robbie had as well.

One of the scenes Eastwood filmed several times was featured in the trailer – a shot of her walking up a set of stairs after she was directed to act like her feet hurt. When the trailer was released, she was excited to see that it was included.

In another scene, she had to lie on the ground face down for an hour. Her make-up smeared as she kept one side of her face on the floor.

“When I got up, I literally felt drunk,” she said. “I have no idea what that scene was about.”

And that sentiment applies to the entire experience.

“I was on this for two weeks and I barely know what the movie is about,” she said. “They did a very good job of keeping the plot hidden.” NYTIMES