Is Ryan Reynolds a Nice Guy?
Since Ryan Reynolds‘ performance as Deadpool, he has been everywhere. His movies continue to do well, he’s tearing it up on social media, and he’s even branched out into business ventures. Reynolds is quirky and funny in his interviews and a delightful troll on social media, but many fans wonder if he’s like that in real life? How much of that delightfully quirky troll is actually Reynolds, and how much of it is a carefully crafted persona?
Reynolds is a jokester on social media
You almost can’t scroll through social media without coming across something that Reynolds said or did on his page. He is poking fun at friends more often than not or trolling his wife, Blake Lively.
The trolling isn’t mean-spirited, but Reynolds does tease. It’s meant for laughs above all else. Usually, whoever he’s trolling gives it right back. Reynolds and Lively’s public social media conversations are filled with back-and-forth bantering, and his “feud” with Hugh Jackman is well-documented.
In interviews, Reynolds is quirky, funny, and pleasant. Even when he’s teasing, it doesn’t go over the top or get mean. His interviews are often hilarious. Reynolds leans fully into the character of Deadpool, and fans love it. It also has fans wondering if he’s that nice in real life.
What has Reynolds said about it?
Of course, since fans have asked about it and hit up social media thinking about it, interviewers started asking Reynolds about his nice-guy persona. Reynolds was unexpectedly a bit profound in his answer to it. According to ET Canada, he referenced an old saying in a Men’s Health interview. “If you can’t find the asshole, it’s you,” he said.
Keeping that in mind, Reynolds said that he likes to try to include everyone. He goes out of his way to listen to whatever idea anyone else might have. He said, “that means if the caterer has a good idea, you want to hear it.”
It sounds like Reynolds genuinely doesn’t want to be the asshole on set, but he does say that he’s glad that he has a bit of a reputation for being a troll. It makes it easier to drop a few curse words or saying something over the top on social media. He can make jokes without worrying too much about how people might react.
There’s some intent in delivery, too. “I love a good compound swear,” he says. It changes the wording just enough to drive the point home while being funny at the same time. “‘This part is shitty’ isn’t nearly as effective as ‘This party is a total shit symphony,'” he says.
While Reynolds is talking up his swearing technique, though, he is also giving to charity. CNN says that Reynolds and Lively donated “another” million dollars to food-related charities in February 2021. They gave $500,000 each to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada. The couple wrote in a joint statement that they were “honored and privileged to be able to continue our support” of the two charities.
Hello! detailed another donation to Hope for Haiti after a devastating earthquake this summer. Reynolds and Lively donated $10,000 after an earthquake caused over 2,000 deaths and injured 12,000 more people. The charitable donations speak more to Reynolds’ character than his interviews. Reynolds and Lively didn’t announce the donation to Hope for Haiti; the organization did in a thank-you message.
Reynolds co-stars have a few things to say, too
Reynolds’ new movie, Free Guy, was released in August 2021. With a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s safe to say that viewers, by and large, love the movie. Co-star Joe Keery had praise for Reynolds. He noted that Reynolds just thought “directorially.” Reynolds would have lines written or ready to be delivered in different ways, and that there was a lot of improvisation set.
Most importantly, though, was that Keery said that Reynolds “wants to make people feel comfortable so they’ll do their best work on set.” Keery continued by stating, “He’s been incredible.” From the evidence that can be gathered, it seems that Reynolds is that likable guy persona.
