Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds Bio

Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, film producer, and entrepreneur. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the world’s second-highest-paid actor in 2020 and 2024. Reynolds has received numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for two Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. His films as a leading actor have grossed $6.6 billion worldwide.

Beyond acting, Reynolds has built a business profile that includes ownership stakes in Mint Mobile and the Welsh soccer club Wrexham. Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017, and People named him Sexiest Man Alive in 2010. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in December 2024.

Early Life and Background

Ryan Rodney Reynolds was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 23, 1976. His father, James Chester Reynolds, served as a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman before retiring and transitioning to work as a foods wholesaler. His mother, Tamara Lee (née Stewart), worked in retail sales. Reynolds has three older brothers and has described himself as a “moving target” during childhood due to their teasing. He has also shared that his brothers protected him from their father, with whom he had a complex and somewhat estranged relationship. Reynolds is of Irish descent and was raised Catholic in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood as well as in Vanier, Ontario.

Reynolds became involved in acting at the age of thirteen. As a teenager, he attended acting classes—which he failed—and briefly held a day job as a busboy at a restaurant, while also working night shifts at a local grocery store in Vancouver. He described his co-workers there as some of the funniest people he had met and credited them as formative influences on his performing instincts. Reynolds attended Prince of Wales Secondary School for grades nine and ten before being expelled for an incident involving a teacher’s car. He completed grades eleven and twelve at Kitsilano Secondary School alongside actor Joshua Jackson, graduating in 1994.

Reynolds initially took on minor roles in various television series but became discouraged and left acting at nineteen to enroll at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. A few months later, he encountered fellow actor Chris William Martin, who encouraged him to give acting another chance and relocate with him to Los Angeles.

Path to Acting

Reynolds launched his on-screen career in 1991 with the Canadian teen soap opera Hillside, which aired in the United States on Nickelodeon under the title Fifteen. He portrayed Billy Simpson, a character who turned to bullying to cope with family issues and romantic rejections. He made his feature film debut in the coming-of-age drama Ordinary Magic (1993), playing Jeffrey, an orphan raised in India who is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. Between 1993 and 1994, Reynolds took on the dual roles of Macro and Lee in the children’s television series The Odyssey.

Throughout the mid-1990s, Reynolds built his résumé with small television roles, including appearances on The Outer Limits, The X-Files, The John Larroquette Show, and the television film Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996). He portrayed Bobby Rupp in the two-part miniseries In Cold Blood (1996), an adaptation of Truman Capote’s 1966 nonfiction novel. His breakthrough role came as medical student Michael “Berg” Bergen in the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (1998–2001), where his performance drew praise and signalled his arrival as a leading comedic talent.

Ryan Reynolds Career

Early Career (2002–2005)

Reynolds moved into feature films as a leading man with the romantic comedy National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002), which was critically panned but achieved box office success. He followed it with roles in The In-Laws (2003) and the heist film Foolproof (2003), both of which underperformed. In 2004, he had a memorable cameo in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and made his voice acting debut in the animated television series Zeroman. That same year, he played vampire hunter Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity, a film that was a commercial success but drew negative reviews.

His early career continued with the supernatural horror remake The Amityville Horror (2005), the ensemble comedy Waiting… (2005), and the romantic comedy Just Friends (2005), in which he wore a fat suit to portray an overweight high schooler. These roles established Reynolds as a dependable presence in mid-budget comedies and genre films, even when the productions themselves received mixed reviews.

Breakthrough (2009–2016)

Reynolds starred alongside Sandra Bullock in the commercially successful romantic comedy The Proposal (2009) and played Wade Wilson / Deadpool / Weapon XI in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). His involvement with the Deadpool character began as early as 2005 and would later define his career. In 2011, he took the titular role in the superhero film Green Lantern, a critical and commercial disappointment that did not derail his momentum.

He rebounded with the survival thriller Buried (2010), the action thriller Safe House (2012), and voice roles in The Croods (2013) and Turbo (2013). Reynolds achieved his greatest commercial success with the superhero film Deadpool (2016), which had been in development since 2000. He chose not to get paid for the film to ensure its release. Deadpool grossed $782 million worldwide and earned Reynolds a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Notable Works and Milestones

Reynolds’s signature work is the Deadpool franchise, in which he plays Wade Wilson. The character’s cinematic journey continued with Deadpool 2 (2018) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), the latter becoming his highest-grossing release. His performance in Deadpool earned a Golden Globe nomination, and the Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine soundtracks both received Grammy nominations. According to review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, his most acclaimed films include Adventureland (2009), Buried (2010), Mississippi Grind (2015), and Free Guy (2021).

Ryan Reynolds Award Nominations

Reynolds has received nominations across major entertainment awards bodies throughout his career. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Deadpool (2016). He received Grammy nominations for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for the soundtracks of Deadpool 2 (2018) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Additional nominations include recognition from MTV Movie & TV Awards, People’s Choice Awards, and a Saturn Award.

Ryan Reynolds Awards Won

Reynolds has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program as an executive producer of the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham (2022–present). His other wins include three MTV Movie & TV Awards and three People’s Choice Awards. In December 2016, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard. He was honoured with a Governor General Performing Arts Award on November 26, 2021, and was announced as a recipient of the Order of British Columbia in August 2023. On December 19, 2024, Reynolds was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for his achievements in film and philanthropic contributions.

Ryan Reynolds Family

Reynolds’s father, James Chester Reynolds, served as a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman before retiring and working as a foods wholesaler. His mother, Tamara Lee (née Stewart), worked in retail sales. Reynolds has three older brothers. His father died in 2015 following a twenty-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, a loss Reynolds has said he processed through humour and through his work on Deadpool. Reynolds has spoken publicly about joining the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s board in 2009 to help find a cure for Parkinson’s disease, and he ran the New York City Marathon for Team Fox in 2008.

Personal Life

Reynolds began dating singer Alanis Morissette in 2002, and the couple announced their engagement in 2004. In February 2007, their representatives confirmed they had mutually decided to call off the engagement. Shortly after, Reynolds began dating actress Scarlett Johansson in April 2007. The couple married in September 2008 and announced their separation on December 14, 2010. Their divorce was finalized in July 2011.

Reynolds first met actress Blake Lively in July 2010 while filming Green Lantern. They began dating in October 2011 and married on September 9, 2012, at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The couple later renewed their vows at home in New York. They have four children together—three daughters and a son—and the family lives in Pound Ridge, New York. Reynolds attained American citizenship around 2018 and voted for the first time in the 2020 presidential election.