Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds, born on October 23, 1976, in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a Canadian actor, producer, and entrepreneur. He began acting as a teenager on the Canadian television series Hillside, which later aired in the United States as Fifteen. His early screen work included National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), where he played the long-serving college student Van Wilder, and the ABC comedy Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, in which he portrayed medical student Michael “Berg” Bergen.

Reynolds took on varied roles before becoming especially associated with comic-book films. He played Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity (2004), appeared as an FBI agent in Smokin' Aces (2006), and starred in the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe (2008). In The Proposal (2009), he played Andrew Paxton opposite Sandra Bullock. He also received strong notices for Buried (2010), a thriller set almost entirely inside a coffin, where he played a kidnapped American contractor trapped underground in Iraq.

In 2011, Reynolds portrayed Hal Jordan in Green Lantern. Although the film was not a major critical success, it became part of the public story surrounding his later work as Wade Wilson. Reynolds had previously appeared as Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), but he spent years advocating for a film closer to the character's comic-book version. Deadpool, released in 2016, became a major commercial success and established its R-rated, self-aware style. Reynolds returned for Deadpool 2 (2018) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which paired him with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and brought the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

His other prominent recent films include Free Guy (2021), in which he played a non-player character who becomes self-aware inside a video game; Red Notice (2021), alongside Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot; and The Adam Project (2022), where he played a time-traveling pilot confronting his younger self. He has also produced projects through Maximum Effort, his production and marketing company.

Outside acting, Reynolds co-owned Aviation American Gin before Diageo acquired the brand in 2020. He was also an owner of Mint Mobile before T-Mobile acquired its parent company, Ka'ena Corporation, in 2023. In 2020, he and actor Rob McElhenney purchased Welsh football club Wrexham AFC. Their ownership became the subject of the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham. The club won the National League in 2023, returning to the English Football League after 15 years, and secured promotion again in 2024.