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The rise and rise (and Green Lantern) of Ryan Reynolds

The rise and rise (and Green Lantern) of Ryan Reynolds

As the funnyman's latest film, The Adam Project, comes to Netflix, we chart his career, as well as why we just love to love him

By Laura Rutkowski, Senior Staff Writer

A film starring Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldaña? Sign us up immediately! At this point, it’s Ryan Reynolds’ world and we’re just living in it, as he produces another banger following on from Free Guy.

 

He stars as time-travelling pilot Adam who crosses paths with his 12-year-old self (newcomer Walker Scobell) and his late father (Ruffalo) when he accidentally crash-lands from 2050 into 2022. At least it wasn’t 2020…
 


Reynolds poured a lot of himself into the film as he reckoned with his own father’s death in 2015. Reynolds said: “For me, this is really a story about a son and a father connecting, albeit across the space-time continuum. I think for a lot of people who’ve lost a parent, getting to say goodbye in the place you are now, as opposed to the place you were when they left, is the ultimate wish fulfilment. Everything about this story rang true for me personally, and it brought out something completely different in terms of my own performance, as well.

 

“I’ve tended to veer away from vulnerability, but this story felt grounded in a way that really made me lean into it. And through this movie, I felt like I got to go make peace with some stuff that I still carry around every day, like a little bag of rocks.”

 

Director Shawn Levy and writer Jonathan Tropper met up at Reynolds’ house to discuss their own relationships with their fathers and “this universal theme of the way men wrestle with anger towards their fathers, but aren’t able to step into a happy, grown-up existence until they forgive their dads for being human”, Levy said.
 

Walker Scobell, who plays Young Adam and is seen here with Jennifer Garner who plays his mother Ellie, knows the Deadpool films off by heart

Reynolds also largely rewrote a scene with his on-screen mother (Garner) as a tribute to his own mother. Although it’s a sci-fi film, The Adam Project has lots of heart, plus taps into the nostalgia of films like E.T.The Goonies and Back To The Future (with the wardrobe to match).

 

Before The Adam Project is released on Netflix on Friday 11 March, we’re celebrating Reynolds in all his glory – from his blockbusters to his banter. Simply click on the icons below.

 


When is The Adam Project on Netflix?

Find The Adam Project in Apps & Games > Netflix from Friday 11 March.

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