11 Fascinating Things You Didn't Know About Ryan Reynolds (VIDEO)
He once gave up on acting.
The Vancouver-born actor has certainly made a name for himself after joining the industry in the early '90s. Today, he's best known for his roles in The Proposal, The Green Lantern, and Deadpool among tons more. His incredible sense of humour is already a huge hit and these factoids about Ryan Reynolds will make you love him even more.
He Failed His High School Drama Class
According to Vulture, before he met fame, Reynolds failed his high school drama class. He confirmed it in a 2015 interview with iJOE entertainment and Hugh Jackman poked fun at it on Instagram.
His First TV Appearance Was On A Teen Drama
The 43-year-old had a role in the series Fifteen in 1991 according to IMDb. He played the character Billy Simpson alongside fellow Canadians including Laura Harris, Todd Talbot, Chris William Martin, and Enuka Okuma. Biography wrote that the teen drama was originally called Hillside when it aired in Canada and was renamed to Fifteen following its U.S. premiere.
He Once Quit Acting
His IMDb biography says that after small roles in 1995 and 1996, Reynolds' run of bad luck led him to throw in the towel. One night, he ran into Chris William Martin, his former co-star and fellow Vancouverite, who convinced him to pack up and move to L.A. together. The Canadian Encyclopedia reported that the move required 19-year-old Reynolds to drop out of Kwantlen College in Richmond, B.C.
He Has A Star On Canada's Walk Of Fame
In 2014, the Deadpool star was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. According to the official website, his star is located at "King St. West - South Side" in the same area as other celebrities' stars including Sandra Oh, Rachel McAdams, and Eugene Levy. Then in 2016, he was inducted into Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
His Brother Is An RCMP Member
The Proposal star is the youngest of four boys. They wrote that two of his older brothers are police officers and the third is a member of the RCMP. His father James Chester Reynolds was reportedly also a police officer and his mother Tammy Stewart worked as a retail salesperson.
He's Part Of The Michael J. Fox Foundation Board
Reynolds' profile on Canada's Walk of Fame notes that he's part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research on the board of directors. They wrote that the actor ran in the New York City Marathon in 2007 and raised over $100,000 to honour his father who had Parkinson's disease. The Canadian Encyclopedia noted that his father died in October 2015 which sparked Reynolds to ask fans to donate to the foundation.
He Worked On A Canadian Documentary
A 2011 documentary called The Whale was narrated and executive produced by Reynolds. It's about "The true story of Luna, a young, wild killer whale who tries to befriend people on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island," per IMDb. The 85-minute film earned itself an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
He Has A Tattoo Tribute To A Park In Vancouver
Reynolds has a tattoo located on his left forearm. It's reportedly an image of the Nine O'Clock Gun, a cannon located in Stanley Park in Vancouver that's fired off at 9 p.m. daily.
He Waited 11 Years To Get Deadpool Created
In a 2016 interview with Jimmy Fallon, Reynolds shared that he was trying to get Deadpool made for 11 years. "We developed the script six years ago," Reynolds told Fallon. "So the studio granted us a small amount of money to make test footage, and then it sat on the shelf for four years. And then a little under two years ago, it leaked accidentally onto the internet...The Deadpool fans freaked out and overwhelmed Fox and Fox basically had to greenlight the movie."
He Personally Asked Celine Dion To Sing A Track For Deadpool 2
A 2018 interview with BUILD Series for YouTube exposed that Reynolds personally asked Celine Dion over email to sing a pre-written song called "Ashes" for the sequel. "We got a way in through her manager, I sent her a long letter describing what Deadpool is and what we're hoping to do. And somehow two hours later, she said yes." He continued saying that they also got her to film a music video that was done on her home stage in Las Vegas.
He Once Smuggled Apple Pie Across The Canada-U.S. Border
Reynolds had an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2016 where he shared that his wife Blake Lively is a total foodie. He told the host, "She loves these apple pies that they make at this place in Vancouver where I grew up, so we grabbed a bunch of them and we were driving back down to the States. You're not allowed to cross the border with vegetables." After some terrible lying, he was eventually let into the U.S. with the delicious pies.