Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds turns 49 today – so what better time to look back at some of his most iconic roles from over the years.
Ryan Reynolds is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today – indeed, he was the second-highest-paid actor in 2020 and 2024, and films in which he has been a lead actor have grossed more than $6.6 billion.
The Canadian actor has also had success as an entrepreneur, such as his Aviation American Gin brand, and as football club owner – he has taken Welsh club Wrexham from the National League – the fifth tier of English football – to the Championship (second tier) in a few years, which viewers of Welcome to Wrexham will be well aware of.
As he celebrates his 49th birthday, what better time to look back on some of his most iconic roles over the years.
Van Wilder (National Lampoon’s Van Wilder)
One of Ryan’s early successes on the big screen was as the title character in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. Van is a senior at Coolidge College but spends most of his time on goofing around and organising parties. When his father cuts off financial support, Van has to find means to supporting himself – organising parties. When one goes wrong, Van is faced with expulsion – unless he can graduate before the semester ends. Can he do it and get the girl of his dreams?
Despite mostly negative reviews, Van Wilder was a relative box office success – grossing $38 million from a $5 million budget – and marked Ryan out as a rising star.
Pikachu (Detective Pikachu)
Live-action versions of iconic anime franchises are notoriously difficult, but Detective Pikachu pulled it off. Ryan plays the Pikachu, who has had the spirit of his detective partner melded into him – so we get a cute Pikachu, with the wit of a grizzled detective. And his coffee addiction. Teaming up with his son, they get to the heart of a huge conspiracy that threatens the city and the relationship between humans and Pokemon.
Deadpool (Deadpool)
Possibly the role Ryan is most famous for – and the most he is invested in. It’s well known that Ryan tried for years to get a Deadpool movie onto the big screen, being a big fan of the Marvel character. He first played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, before reprising the role in the 2016 movie. In the sequel and Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan also took on a writing role. Deadpool & Wolverine was the second highest grossing film of 2024.
Using his cheeky charm and smooth delivery, he relishes the role of the Merc with the Mouth and clearly had a ball making all three of the Deadpool movies
Guy (Free Guy)
In this sci-fi action comedy Ryan plays the titular character, who is a bank teller who discovers he is a non-player character in a huge multiplayer online game called Free City. But when a software developer playing the game – who is on a mission to find out if her code was stolen for the game – sings Guy’s favourite song, he begins to break his programming and ends up becoming a player – completing missions and becoming a global sensation. But then a new threat emerges in the form of Free City 2…
Adam Reed (The Adam Project)
In another sci-fi action comedy, where again Ryan plays the title character, he is a fighter pilot in a dystopian version of 2050 who steals a time jet, where he goes back to land in 2022 and meets his younger self. Together, they seek to go back to 2018 and stop an assassination and try to repair the future.
The film had a limited theatrical release before hitting Netflix, where it became the third most popular movie on the streaming platform.
Michael ‘Berg’ Bergen (Two Guys and a Girl)
The sitcom, which ran for four seasons on ABC from 1998-2001, starred Ryan as Berg, one of the two guys of the title – a mischievous everyman slacker with good looks who works at a pizza parlour (the show was initially titled ‘Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place) and often creates chaos for his friends. During the course of the show, his character decides to attend medical school to become a doctor. While Ryan had starred in other series before, this one, on at prime time, helped to raise his star profile.
