Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds is a Canadian actor, producer, and writer who has built a career around comedy, action, and a talent for delivering sarcastic one-liners, becoming one of Hollywood's most recognisable stars through films including Deadpool, The Proposal, Free Guy, and Deadpool & Wolverine. Born Ryan Rodney Reynolds on October 23, 1976, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Reynolds began acting while still a teenager. One of his earliest roles came in the Canadian teen drama Hillside, which aired in the United States as Fifteen. After several smaller television appearances, Reynolds landed a regular role as Michael “Berg” Bergen in the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, later shortened to Two Guys and a Girl. The series ran from 1998 to 2001 and helped introduce Reynolds' comic style to a much wider audience. His movie career began gathering momentum during the early 2000s. Reynolds took the title role in 2002's National Lampoon's Van Wilder, playing a university student who seemed considerably more interested in parties than actually graduating. The comedy became a cult favourite and helped establish the fast-talking, sarcastic screen persona that would follow Reynolds throughout much of his career. He subsequently appeared in films including Blade: Trinity, The Amityville Horror, Smokin' Aces and Definitely, Maybe, demonstrating that he could move between comedy, horror, action and romance. Another major success arrived in 2009 when Reynolds starred opposite Sandra Bullock in The Proposal. The romantic comedy became a box-office hit and further established him as a Hollywood leading man. That same year, Reynolds made his first appearance as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It wasn't exactly the Deadpool fans had been hoping for. But Reynolds wasn't finished with the character. In 2011, he took on another superhero role as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern. The film failed to launch the franchise Warner Bros. had hoped for, but Reynolds would later have plenty of fun making jokes about it — particularly once he finally got the comic-book character he'd spent years trying to bring properly to the screen. ENTER DEADPOOL In 2016, Reynolds starred as Wade Wilson in Deadpool. This time they got it right. The R-rated superhero movie embraced Deadpool's violence, fourth-wall-breaking humour and complete inability to keep his mouth shut, with Reynolds appearing almost perfectly matched to the character. The movie became a huge success and transformed Deadpool into one of the most popular comic-book characters in modern cinema. Reynolds also received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. He returned for Deadpool 2 in 2018 before teaming with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine for Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024, bringing the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Outside the red suit, Reynolds has continued to appear in a wide variety of films. His credits include Buried, Safe House, Woman in Gold, Life, The Hitman's Bodyguard, 6 Underground, Red Notice, The Adam Project and Spirited. In 2021's Free Guy, Reynolds played Guy, a cheerful non-player character who gradually discovers that the world around him is actually a video game. The film gave him another successful blend of action, comedy and the self-aware humour that had become such a major part of his screen persona. Reynolds has also worked extensively as a producer and writer, with his involvement in the Deadpool films extending considerably beyond simply playing the title character. IMDb credits him across acting, producing and writing roles. From Canadian television in the early 1990s to becoming the bloke underneath one of Marvel's most recognisable masks, Ryan Reynolds has taken a rather unusual route to the top of Hollywood. There have been romantic comedies, horror movies, action films and at least one superhero movie he'd probably quite happily erase from existence. But after years of trying to get Deadpool made properly, Reynolds eventually found the character that seemed designed for him. Or perhaps it was the other way around.