Regina-raised dancer joins army of Kens during performance at the Academy Awards
Though no stranger to awards shows, audience of stars impressed Mackenzie Green
A black Stetson hat, a white bowtie and a pink-striped sash under a black blazer: an outfit that exudes "Kenergy."
That's what Regina's Mackenzie Green was wearing on stage at the 96th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday when he joined about five-dozen other dancing Kens — alongside the main Ken himself, Ryan Gosling — as they performed I'm Just Ken from the movie Barbie.
"A lot of people through my Facebook and through my Instagram have reached out and they're like, 'this is such an iconic moment in history.' Some people were saying that it was their favourite part of the Oscars," said Green, who was raised in Regina but now lives in Los Angeles.
During the performance, the army of Kens provided background for Gosling, who was clad in a bedazzling pink suit and singing the power ballad that inspired a standing-ovation from the audience.
The song has become a popular tune on its own, even eliciting a couple parody tunes on Saturday Night Live and CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
So how did Green get a part in the performance?
In an interview with CBC's Ethan Williams on Wednesday, Green said he auditioned for choreographer and creative director Mandy Moore several days before the performance.
Green said he auditioned as a contemporary dancer for an in-memoriam performance, but instead landed a spot as one of the dancing Kens. That was followed by about six days of rehearsal — two of them at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood where the Academy Awards ceremony was held.
Green, who has also performed at both the Emmy and Grammy awards shows, said the huge number of stars in the audience made an impression on him.
"I think I high-fived Steven Spielberg at the end because we ran through the audience," he recalled, "so those moments are a little bit surreal — as a dancer you don't get to work with, like, Steven Spielberg often."
However, he said, he didn't get to spend much time with fellow Canadian Gosling.
Though nominated for best original song, I'm Just Ken lost out to a sister song in the Barbie movie, What Was I Made For, by Billie Eilish and her brother, FINNEAS.
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With files from Ethan Williams and Jackson Weaver