Ryan Reynolds Biography Quotes 20 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education

Ryan Rodney Reynolds was born on October 23, 1976, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The youngest of four brothers, he grew up in a working-class household with parents who modeled grit and humor in equal measure. His father, James (Jim) Reynolds, worked in the food industry after earlier service with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while his mother, Tammy, worked in retail. Reynolds attended Kitsilano Secondary School, graduating in 1994, and briefly enrolled at Kwantlen Polytechnic University before committing to acting full time. The support and sharp wit of his family, including older brothers who entered law enforcement, helped shape the resilient, self-deprecating persona he later projected on screen and in interviews.

Early Career

Reynolds began acting as a teenager, landing a lead role in the Canadian-produced teen series Hillside (known as Fifteen in the United States) from 1991 to 1993. Through the mid-1990s he accumulated television credits, appearing in projects that took him back and forth between Canada and the United States, including a memorable turn in the TV movie Sabrina the Teenage Witch and a guest spot on The X-Files. His major break came with the ABC sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (1998, 2001), in which he played the wisecracking Michael "Berg" Bergen. The series showcased his timing and quicksilver charm, building a foundation for the move into film.

Breakthrough in Film

Reynolds became widely known to moviegoers with the college comedy National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), a role that cemented his reputation for irreverent humor but also risked a comedic typecast he would spend years subverting. He widened his range with action and thriller work in Blade: Trinity (2004), horror in The Amityville Horror (2005), and offbeat comedies such as Waiting... (2005) and Just Friends (2005). He continued to mix genres with Smokin' Aces (2006) and found a warm reception in the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe (2008), acting opposite Isla Fisher and Abigail Breslin. The Proposal (2009), co-starring Sandra Bullock, became a major commercial hit and deepened his bankable leading-man status. He drew critical notice for the minimalist thriller Buried (2010), which demanded that he carry a film almost single-handedly.

Superheroes, Setbacks, and Persistence

Reynolds's first run as a headlining superhero, Green Lantern (2011), struggled critically and commercially, but it proved pivotal personally and professionally. On that film he worked with Blake Lively, whom he later married, and saw firsthand how a misaligned tone and script could derail a big-budget franchise. Rather than retreat, he kept exploring diverse projects: the action-thriller Safe House (2012) opposite Denzel Washington, the supernatural buddy actioner R.I.P.D. (2013), and character-driven dramas like Mississippi Grind (2015) and Woman in Gold (2015). Along the way he built a parallel voice career, notably as Guy in the animated hit The Croods (2013) and its sequel years later.

Deadpool and Stardom on His Own Terms

Reynolds's long campaign to bring the comic antihero Wade Wilson/Deadpool to the screen culminated in Deadpool (2016), after he had first portrayed a version of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) alongside Hugh Jackman. Working closely with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and director Tim Miller, and drawing on his instincts as a producer, he championed a hard-R tone, meta humor, and a subversive marketing strategy. The film became a global phenomenon and earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Deadpool 2 (2018), directed by David Leitch, consolidated that success. The role crystallized Reynolds's voice: sardonic yet sincere, self-aware yet emotionally grounded. His friendly, ongoing "feud" with Jackman became a pop-culture throughline, resurfacing in later collaborations.

Ongoing Screen Work and Creative Partnerships

Reynolds sustained momentum with large-scale streaming and theatrical releases. He teamed with Michael Bay on 6 Underground (2019), voiced the title character in Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019), and built a fertile partnership with director Shawn Levy on Free Guy (2021) and The Adam Project (2022). He also joined Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot in Red Notice (2021), and leaned into musical comedy with Will Ferrell in Spirited (2022). He reunited with Levy and Jackman for Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), extending the Deadpool brand into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These collaborations underscored how he curates teams around tone, comedy, and heart.

Producer, Entrepreneur, and Marketer

Beyond acting, Reynolds grew into a savvy producer and entrepreneur. Through Maximum Effort, his production company and creative studio, he championed projects across film, television, and advertising, often blending rapid-response marketing with humor. He became a co-owner and the public face of Aviation American Gin, later remaining as a creative partner after the brand's acquisition by a global spirits company in 2020. He took an ownership stake in Mint Mobile and, in 2023, supported its announced acquisition by a major U.S. carrier. With Rob McElhenney, he purchased historic Welsh football club Wrexham AFC in 2020, documenting the high-wire endeavor in the critically acclaimed series Welcome to Wrexham. He also joined MNTN as Chief Creative Officer when Maximum Effort Marketing aligned with the company, and invested in technology firms such as 1Password and Wealthsimple, extending his brand of playful, direct-to-audience storytelling into business.

Personal Life

Reynolds's personal relationships have often intersected with his public story. He was engaged to Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette from 2004 to 2007, later married actor Scarlett Johansson in 2008, and divorced in 2011. In 2012 he married Blake Lively, whom he met while making Green Lantern. Together they have four children, three daughters named James, Inez, and Betty, and a fourth child born in the early 2020s. Family remains central to his persona; he speaks candidly about fatherhood, partnership, and how humor helps him manage anxiety. The loss of his father in 2015 was a profound moment that deepened his involvement with causes connected to neurological research and patient support.

Philanthropy and Advocacy

Reynolds and Lively have used their platform and resources for philanthropy, notably supporting food security, healthcare, and refugee relief. In 2020 they donated to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada to bolster pandemic response. In 2022 they pledged to match donations to aid refugees through UNHCR. They have supported children's hospitals and research initiatives, including work aligned with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and contributed to the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. Reynolds co-created the Group Effort Initiative to open doors for underrepresented talent in film and television, bringing trainees onto sets of Maximum Effort productions and encouraging industry-wide mentorship.

Recognition and Public Persona

Reynolds has been honored across entertainment and beyond. People magazine named him Sexiest Man Alive in 2010, and in 2016 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joined by Blake Lively and their family. Deadpool earned him multiple nominations, including at the Golden Globes, and sustained acclaim followed for his blend of action and comedy. In 2021 he received the National Arts Centre Award as part of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards in Canada. His image as an accessible star owes much to his wit on social media, where he mingles self-mockery with deft promotion for collaborators like Shawn Levy, Hugh Jackman, Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, Will Ferrell, and partners such as Rob McElhenney, as well as for the brands he helps steer.

Legacy

Ryan Reynolds's career traces a path from Canadian teen television to global film stardom, marked by a rare ability to transform setbacks into leverage. He built a screen identity that invites audiences in on the joke while still delivering earnest character work, and he proved that the business of storytelling can be as creative as storytelling itself. Surrounding himself with key people, from family and partners like Blake Lively, to creative allies such as Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Tim Miller, David Leitch, and Shawn Levy, to entrepreneurial partners like Rob McElhenney, he turned collaboration into a signature practice. In acting, producing, marketing, and community-building, he demonstrates a modern blueprint for an entertainer-entrepreneur whose Canadian roots and personal candor remain visible despite the scale of his success.