RYAN REYNOLDS
October 23, 1976
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
(Actor)
Film
• Ordinary Magic (1993)
• My Name Is Kate (1994)
• Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995)
• When Friendship Kills (1996)
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)
• In Cold Blood (1996)
• The Alarmist (1997)
• Tourist Trap (1998)
• Coming Soon (1998)
• Dick (1999)
• Boltneck (Big Monster On Campus) (2000)
• Finder’s Fee (2001)
• National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002)
• Buying the Cow (2002)
• The In-Laws (2003)
• Foolproof (2003)
• Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
• Blade: Trinity (2004)
• School of Life (2005)
• The Amityville Horror (2005)
• Waiting… (2005)
• Just Friends (2005)
• Smokin’ Aces (2006)
• The Nines (2007)
• Chaos Theory (2007)
• Definitely, Maybe (2008)
• Fireflies in the Garden (2008)
• Adventureland (2009)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
• The Proposal (2009)
• Paper Man (2009)
• Buried (2010)
• Green Lantern (2011)
• The Change-Up (2011)
• Safe House (2012)
• The Croods (2013)
Television
• Fifteen (1991–1993)
• The Odyssey (1993–1994)
• The Outer Limits (1995)
• The Marshal (1995)
• Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (1995)
• The X-Files (1996)
• The John Larroquette Show (1996)
• The Outer Limits (1997-1998)
• Two Guys and a Girl (1998–2001)
• Scrubs (2003)
• Zeroman (2004–2005)
• My Boys (2007)
• Saturday Night Live (2009)
Though “Green Lantern” does not top my list of most anticipated blockbusters of the summer, Ryan Reynolds does top my list of favorite actors and with his new superhero flick hitting the theaters this weekend, I have chosen Ryan Reynolds as the Proof In The Picture Actor of the Week.
Reynolds first hit my radar during the ABC TGIF line-up with the show “Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place” (later dropping the pizza place). As one of the main characters, you end up getting to see him through most of the four seasons. Shortly after his television stint, National Lampoon released the film “Van Wilder” in which Reynolds takes the comedy reigns and completely owns this film, becoming (and still remaining) one of my favorite comedies.
Though I feel Reynolds found his niche in comedies, he delivered some amazing performances in “The Amityville Horror” remake and “Blade: Trinity”. However, “Just Friends” and “Waiting…” are some of the best comedies to come out of the year 2005. Having a sarcastic nature mixed with his boyish good looks (and chiseled abs) makes Reynolds a very likable guy. Coming off very down-to-earth, Reynolds somehow finds a way around being cocky or coming off conceited.
2006 brought on a shift in Reynolds’s career, starring in the action thriller “Smokin’ Aces”, remaining the center of attention and major storyline in a film jam-packed with stars including Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Chris Pine, Alicia Keys, and Andy Garcia. By then, I feel Reynolds had hit most people’s radar.
Reynolds is an enigma. He is a hilarious comedic actor, a thrilling action star, and a sincere dramatic actor. From what I’ve read, he had no formal acting training and appears to have just been born with a gift and has perfected that gift through many acting opportunities. He can be a major blockbuster player, yet still stays humble, doing small, low budget films like “Paper Man”, “The Chaos Theory” and one of my personal favorites, “The Nines”. The man has yet to win any major awards (more specifically any Academy Awards), but following his jaunt in action films, I feel we are just on the brink of seeing Reynolds step into the Oscar light.
His dramatic side flairs in the successful film “Definitely, Maybe”, a chick-flick that does not really come off as one with Reynolds at the helm. “The Proposal” works just slightly better with Reynolds’s inclusion, though not a huge of Sandra Bullock, the two have amazing chemistry and really pull of the situational humor. “Adventureland” provides Reynolds with an opportunity to play an unlikeable character and he really pulls this off as well. The man was buried in a coffin for 94 minutes and entertained the hell out of me. Not many actors could pull that off. There is nothing this man cannot do.
By the time “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was released with Reynolds playing one of my favorite comic book characters, Deadpool, Reynolds had already proved himself as an action star. With that success, he pretty much signed himself up for a one way ticket straight to a starring role in “Green Lantern”, a role I have no doubt he will positively obliterate. Also on the horizon appears to be a film allowing Reynolds to reprise his role of Deadpool in his own origins story, which I will anticipate hearing confirmed.
Though I will not be running straight out to see “Green Lantern” this weekend, I do look forward to seeing what Ryan Reynolds can accomplish with a big budget and a starring role. Reynolds has always been a favorite actor of mine and with my new Actor of the Week blog, I am able to finally recognize his accomplishments in relationship to myself, as a viewer and fan.
