Actor Ryan Gosling has said he is “disappointed” that Barbie’s Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie were snubbed in major Oscar nomination categories.

Gosling said he was “honoured” to be nominated for best supporting actor for “portraying a plastic doll named Ken”.

“But there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie.”

Many had expected Gerwig and Robbie to be nominated in the best director and best actress categories respectively.

But there were nods for the two elsewhere. Robbie was recognised as a producer in the best picture line-up, while Gerwig was nominated alongside her husband Noah Baumbach for best adapted screenplay.

Barbie was the highest-grossing film of 2023, taking $1.44bn (£1.14bn) worldwide.

In a statement to CBS, the BBC’s US media partner, Gosling said: “I am extremely honoured to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films”.

At the same time, the Canadian actor described Gerwig and Robbie as “the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film”.

“No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius.

“To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.

“Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognised along with the other very deserving nominees.

However, Gosling added that he was “so happy” for America Ferrera – who received a surprise nomination for best supporting actress – as well as the other “incredible artists who contributed their talents to making this such a groundbreaking film.”

Ferrera also said she was “incredibly disappointed” that Gerwig and Robbie were not recognised in the major nomination categories.

Overall, the Barbie film received eight nominations, including for best picture.

Many film fans on social media were dismayed by the Academy’s choices, with some suggesting the snubs for Robbie and Gerwig but the inclusion of Gosling was ironic, given the film’s message about feminism and the patriarchy.

One fan wrote: “Ken getting nominated and not Barbie is honestly so fitting for a film about a man discovering the power of patriarchy in the Real World.”

But others argued that the nominations were in keeping with the kinds of choices the Academy usually makes, and that, despite Barbie’s commercial success, films of a higher quality were recognised in its place.

Posting on X, one said: “[It’s] objectively funny that lead actresses from two excellent films in Anatomy of a Fall and Killers of the Flower Moon (as well as a female director for the former) were nominated, but because the two-hour advertisement for Mattel didn’t we have to pretend it’s some grand injustice.”

Deadline’s Pete Hammond pointed out that the Academy rarely nominates comedic performances, and suggested that was the reason for Robbie’s absence.

Meanwhile, Ferrera “was very visible on the campaign circuit where her knockout monologue – the film’s most serious moment – was prominently played”, he noted.

Elsewhere, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer – another huge box office success – leads the field with 13 nominations.

Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr were nominated for acting prizes, and Nolan for best director.

Poor Things, about an infant whose brain has been transplanted into the body of a grown woman, was the second-most nominated film, with 11 nominations.

The 96th Academy Awards – or the Oscars – will be held on 10 March in Los Angeles.