Ryan Reynolds on playing Wolverine’s mouthy mercenary Deadpool, his costar Hugh Jackman and his summer rom-com The Proposal.
You’ve got that Deadpool look, wouldn’t you say?
“That character is something that I’ve sort of been mentioning for a long, long time. The character in the comic book Deadpool even mentioned me playing him [saying that underneath it all, he looked like a cross between a Shar-Pei and Ryan Reynolds]. So I think in some weird way, it was a little bit destined. But I love that character. I love that franchise. I love that whole vibe, so I was happy to jump in there and do it.”
How cool would it be to get your own spinoff?
“These things work pretty slowly as they go. I’ve had a couple of people approach me for meetings about a Deadpool movie, but I think it’s absurd to even think that way until this movie comes out, and I don’t even look at it like I play Deadpool in that movie. I really think that I’m more or less playing Wade Wilson, obviously, and then I’m playing the creature that will eventually become Deadpool. But in this movie, it’s sort of his newly formed version.”
Can we expect big, big action in Wolverine?
“Movies like this, you have a lot of big personalities in one room and you think, ‘That’s going to be combustible’ — but it was just the opposite. I look at it as an ensemble really … The action sequences are amazing. I’d never done anything on that scope before. I’ve done a couple of action movies but not like this. So it was pretty wild.”
Is Hugh nice in person — or is that all for show?
“Oh, my God, he’s the nicest guy on Earth. He makes murder look like ice cream.”
But he replaced you as Sexiest Man Alive! That’s gotta hurt …
“Yes. It was brought up often. I think Hugh, much like every other one of these Sexiest People of the Year — which just seems like the most absurd crown on Earth — most people sort of take it with a grain of salt or a crate of valium. It’s pretty silly stuff.”
Tell us about your big summer rom-com The Proposal.
“I got to work with Sandra Bullock who’s been a friend of mine for almost a decade and that was kind of interesting, getting to spend all that time with her. It’s pretty cool.”
What was the reunion with Sandy like?
“She has this ability to compress an enormous amount of emotion and information in a single look. I think that’s the magic of her. I used to think it was because she’s the girl next door or she’s America’s sweetheart or any of that crap, but no. It’s the fact that she has this weird and bizarre supernatural gift that I’m deeply envious of and would love to have someday … We’ve been friends for a long time, but we haven’t been up in each other’s grill for fifteen hours a day for three months. So thankfully that all worked out well, and she didn’t sick her three-legged dogs on me.”
More:
THE 2009 ULTIMATE SUMMER GUIDE
10 Must-See Action Flicks | The Best of the Rest | Celeb Flick Picks
Merchandise You Gotta Have | Quiz: Guess the Movie!
Summer Hotties | Villains of Summer | Action Stars of Tomorrow
