- Ryan Reynolds stars in “Detective Pikachu” and continues to play Marvel antihero Deadpool.
- INSIDER rounded up several things you may not know about Reynolds, including a former fear of flying.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
Ryan Reynolds might be best known for playing Deadpool and Sandra Bullock’s love interest in the 2009 film “The Proposal,” but he wasn’t always known for hits. Reynolds started off on the small screen appearing in the show “Fifteen” before slowly working his way up to his famed role in “Deadpool.”
Despite being in the public eye often with his actress wife, Blake Lively, there’s plenty you may not know about the “Deadpool” actor.
Filming “Green Lantern” helped him get over a fear of flying.
Reynolds’ fear of flying stemmed from a bad skydiving experience when he was a teenager where his first pack didn’t deploy and sent him free-falling through the air. He spoke about getting over that fear by filming 2011’s “Green Lantern.”
“I have problems with airplanes,” Reynolds told Ann Curry on “The Today Show” in 2011. “On the film, we were up on high-wires flying all the time, all over the place … It was really interesting and really terrifying at first.”
Ultimately, Reynolds said the thought of his younger nephews and nieces helped him get past his fear.
"I don't mean to make it sound too altruistic, but my nieces and nephews were just so excited about this movie, and I kept thinking about them getting to come see this film," said Reynolds. "You kind of get over all that crap... After the 17th, 18th time of doing it, you say, 'Hey, this is actually a little bit of fun.'"
He met his wife Blake Lively on the set of "Green Lantern."
Despite Reynolds' public displeasure at the film "Green Lantern," it turns out starring in the superhero movie wasn't all bad. This was where he met his future wife, Blake Lively.
Lively played Reynolds' love interest, Carol Ferris. According to Lively, the two started dating in 2011 a year after working together and becoming good friends. They were married in 2012 and now are expecting their third child.
"He's my friend, first and foremost, still. Not just in our history, but in everyday life. He's my friend first and I think that's the secret to happiness. I don't know the secret to happiness, but it's the secret to my happiness, at least," Lively told SiriusXM.
Reynolds once failed drama class.
A young Reynolds failed his high school drama course. His pal Hugh Jackman poked fun at him for it in 2016 when Reynolds received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Alanis Morissette wrote a song about him.
Before his marriage to Blake Lively, Reynolds dated singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette. The two eventually were engaged, but in 2007, the couple called it quits.
In 2008, Alanis revealed her song "Torch" was written post-breakup about Reynolds.
"It was cathartic," Morisette told Access. "Someone said very wisely to me the other day that catharsis doesn't mean healing necessarily, and I thought, 'Damn! It's true.'"
Read more: 9 people Ryan Reynolds dated before he met wife Blake Lively
Reynolds has wanted to play Kid Flash.
He's already played a few heroes on screen, but Reynolds has his sights on another superhero: The Flash.
The actor says he wanted to play the Wally West version of the hero, Kid Flash. He's almost played the character twice, but it's fallen through both times.
He turned down the role of Xander Harris on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
The now-famous vampire slaying show could have had Reynolds in the role of nerdy BFF Xander Harris. But Reynolds turned down the role, saying he didn't want to play a high schooler.
"I love that show and I loved Joss Whedon, the creator of the show, but my biggest concern was that I didn't want to play a guy in high school," Reynolds told The Star. "I had just come out of high school and it was f---ing awful."
He was once the "Sexiest Man Alive."
People Magazine named Reynolds the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2010. Little did he know that in 2016, People would also name his the "Sexiest Dad Alive."
Reynolds gained 25 pounds for a movie.
Reynolds told Men's Fitness he gained 25 pounds of muscle for "Blade Trinity." He was on a strict 3,200-calorie daily diet and performed six-day-a-week workouts for three months.
Read more: 16 actors who gained weight for movie roles
The "Deadpool" comics mention Ryan Reynolds by name.
In 2004's "Cable & Deadpool" No. 2, Deadpool says he looks like Ryan Reynolds crossed with shar-pei. The comic spelled Reynolds as "Renolds."
Reynolds told Latino Review he was aware of the comic reference in 2009.
"I remember reading one of the Deadpool comic books, and somebody asked Deadpool what he looks like," said Reynolds. "And I was like, I really, really wanna play this guy at some point. I thought it was pretty cool. It's a guy that knows he's in a comic book. How hard is it to shoot that properly? That's not something they put in Wolverine nor would it belong in that universe."
But it probably wasn't the initial inspiration for Reynolds in the role. Two months before the comic was released, producer and screenwriter David S. Goyer told IGN he wanted to work with Reynolds on something after "Blade: Trinity." "Deadpool" was one of the possible ideas they tossed around.
Reynolds appeared on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch."
Technically Reynolds acted in the 1996 "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" TV movie. In the film, Reynolds played Seth, Sabrina's crush at the time who wasn't as decent as she hoped. Reynolds and Melissa Joan Hart also wound up dating for a short time that same year.