These two characters, portrayed by Hyoie O\u2019Grady and Poppy Gilbert, quite literally dance their way into the show, but their polished appearance and sunny disposition mask something much darker lurking underneath.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the mysterious couple are quickly revealed to be ruthless killers, but the motivation behind their crimes is not made clear until later in the eight-part miniseries.<\/p>\n
So, what on earth could have inspired these bizarre characters? Novelist Harlan Coben explained that his inspiration for Ken and Barbie originates with a standout memory from his younger years.<\/p>
\u201cAt half-time in NFL football games in the \u201970s and \u201980s there used to be group called Up With People, who would perform this really wholesome act,\u201d he recalled in a statement to the press.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey would sing all these Kumbaya-type songs and they had these fake painted smiles on. I\u2019m sitting there going, \u2018There\u2019s got to be more behind those fake painted smiles.\u2019 So I decided, wouldn\u2019t it be cool if two of them were kind of psychotic killers? <\/span><\/p>\n Coben added: \u201cThey are the moments in the show where you go, \u2018What the\u2013 where are they going with this?\u2019 I kind of like that. I think Ken and Barbie keep us off balance a little bit. And yet as outrageous as Ken and Barbie are there is something about them that feels grounded and realistic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Stay Close star Bethany Antonia described the duo as \u201cbonkers in the best way\u201d, telling RadioTimes.com<\/a> about a scene she shares with them later in the series, which unfolds in a secluded log cabin in the forest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was as surreal as it probably looks, because every time we would do a take we would do the whole scene. So I was in the cabin even when there were no cameras in there, just so that <\/span>Hyoie<\/span> and Poppy could have something to play off of. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo, being in there and reacting to it off camera was the exact same as seeing it on camera, because they are just terrifying\u2026 \u00a0I really am intrigued to see what people make of them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As for the dance routines they perform throughout the series? \u201cThey didn\u2019t have that much rehearsal either. They just pulled it out the bag so much\u2026 they look phenomenal,\u201d she adds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In an interview with\u00a0RadioTimes.com<\/strong>, Stay Close star Richard Armitage also weighed in on the delightful oddity of Ken and Barbie, revealing that they presented quite a \u201cchallenge\u201d for the creative team to overcome.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a couple of characters that you really enjoy in the book and actually weaving that into a screenplay and making it believable was probably a more difficult task than anything else,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause to have a couple of musical theatre murderers, I think was a real challenge. But obviously, brilliantly cast.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, Stay Close director Lindy Heymann was thrilled with the end result, even suggesting that we might not have seen the last of Ken and Barbie\u2019s disturbing partnership.<\/p>\n \u201cI would be very surprised if at some point someone doesn\u2019t suggest that there could be a Ken and Barbie spin-off show,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir early years and where they met is all described in the book. They are brilliant characters played by Poppy Gilbert and Hyoie O\u2019Grady\u2026 The chemistry between those two was amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For more on Ken and Barbie, check out our guide to the Stay Close cast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stay Close is available to stream on Netflix<\/a>. Read our guide to the best series on Netflix<\/a>, check out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By David Craig Published: Friday, 31 December 2021 at 12:00 am The latest thriller from Harlan Coben is filled with twists and turns as you would expect, but arguably the biggest surprise in Netflix\u2019s Stay Close is the inclusion of two musical theatre murderers named Ken and Barbie. These two characters, portrayed by Hyoie O\u2019Grady […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":9363,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/stay-close-stars-talk-ken-and-barbie-the-musical-theatre-murderers.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/stay-close-stars-talk-ken-and-barbie-the-musical-theatre-murderers-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/stay-close-stars-talk-ken-and-barbie-the-musical-theatre-murderers-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/stay-close-stars-talk-ken-and-barbie-the-musical-theatre-murderers.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/stay-close-stars-talk-ken-and-barbie-the-musical-theatre-murderers.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/stay-close-stars-talk-ken-and-barbie-the-musical-theatre-murderers.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/12\/stay-close-stars-talk-ken-and-barbie-the-musical-theatre-murderers.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Craig Published: Friday, 31 December 2021 at 12:00 am The latest thriller from Harlan Coben is filled with twists and turns as you would expect, but arguably the biggest surprise in Netflix\u2019s Stay Close is the inclusion of two musical theatre murderers named Ken and Barbie. These two characters, portrayed by Hyoie O\u2019Grady…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/9362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Poppy\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/stay_close_netflix_ken_barbie_2-e77753c.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"stay_close_netflix_ken_barbie_2\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"