A picture of the Hollywood actor tells the story of how he went from acting in TV comedies to being a successful businessman and a caring da
Ryan Reynolds, the actor known for “Deadpool,” is doing more than just acting in Hollywood. He’s become a successful businessman and even helped out the Welsh football club Wrexham.
If you keep up with Ryan Reynolds on X (formerly Twitter), you’ll see he’s been talking more about football than Hollywood lately. And it’s not just because of the issues in the movie industry. Three years ago, the “Deadpool” actor and his friend Rob McElhenney (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) bought the struggling football club Wrexham AFC in Wales. Reynolds told the club’s supporters in a Zoom meeting in November 2020, “Our aim is to improve the team and bring it back to the English Football League. We want more people to come to matches at a better stadium, which will help the whole area.”
Reynolds and McElhenney are making their dreams come true: They filmed the journey of the underdog team in the documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham” and attracted new fans to the 5th Division club. In April of this year, Wrexham won their first title in 45 years, earning them a spot in the English Football League Two after being away for fifteen years.
Reynolds isn’t just a rich investor with a fancy hobby. The Canadian actor enjoys creating business plans and has become a serious businessman lately. Besides owning Wrexham, Reynolds invested in Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile, where he’s known for his humorous ads. Selling Aviation Gin made him $122 million, and Mint Mobile was sold for $1.35 billion, netting Reynolds $300 million, according to Fortune Magazine. Even Reynolds’ wife, actress Blake Lively, has found success outside of Hollywood with her non-alcoholic ginger beer, “Betty Buzz,” which sponsors Wrexham AFC.
With all the money they’re making, Ryan Reynolds and his wife can afford to send their four kids to college. But Reynolds doesn’t want his kids to become actors, at least not until they’re adults: “Once they’re eighteen, they can decide for themselves. But having kids in showbiz seems wrong to me,” he said in a 2018 interview for “Deadpool 2.” So far, their kids haven’t shown any interest in acting: “My wife broke her hand while filming ‘Rhythm Section,’ and I’d come home from playing Deadpool all beat up. When I asked my daughter if she wanted to be an actress, she said no because of the ‘boo-boos.’ She thinks acting means getting hurt.”
Ryan Reynolds Rocky Start
Ryan Reynolds is used to getting hurt because he had to learn to stand up for himself early on. He was born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976. He’s the youngest of four boys, and his mom worked in sales while his dad was a police officer and later sold food. Their dad was strict, but their mom was a steady presence. “Us brothers were always close,” says Reynolds. “Our dad wasn’t easy to live with, but it made us tough and motivated us. We grew up in a peaceful place, but it felt like there was always a fight going on.” Now that they’re adults, they support each other. “I might be famous, but my brothers have done well too. They have good marriages and kids. We celebrate this twice a year with everyone.”
Twenty years ago I would never have thought that I would make it this far. When I moved to Los Angeles, my biggest goal was to play the weird neighbor on a sitcom.Ryan Reynolds, actor
Family is really important to Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. Blake grew up with four siblings and loves having a big family. “We recently had 22 cousins come to visit,” she said in a 2016 interview. “We all sleep on beds and sofas without any problems. I enjoy the chaos of family life and have always focused on family.”
Ryan Reynolds had a rough start in acting, even though he wanted to be an actor from a young age. When he was fifteen, he started a comedy group in Vancouver and even appeared on American children’s TV, even though he didn’t do well in his acting class. He acted in TV movies, sitcoms, and movies, but nothing made him really famous. He worked as a waiter and in a supermarket for a while. Then he became known for “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” in 2002.
He got better roles with stars like Michael Douglas, Wesley Snipes, and Sandra Bullock. “Twenty years ago, I never thought I’d make it this far,” says Reynolds. “When I moved to Los Angeles, I just wanted to play a weird neighbor on a TV show. It’s amazing to think I have my own movie series with Deadpool now.” Reynolds always liked Deadpool’s humor and tried to make a movie about him in 2004. But it was only with the support of his fans on Twitter that he could make it happen in 2016. The third Deadpool movie is coming out at the end of 2024.
Children Should Become Compassionate Adults
Back in 2011, Reynolds was supposed to be a big Hollywood star with a big superhero movie called “The Green Lantern.” But the movie didn’t do well, and plans for more movies with that superhero got canceled. The movie still made history because it’s where Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, who’s now his wife, met.
Ryan Reynolds has been with some famous and confident women even before he became famous worldwide. He was with singer Alanis Morissette for six years. Then he got married to Scarlett Johansson, who was 23 at the time. They got divorced in 2011. In September 2012, he got married again, this time to Blake Lively, on a southern plantation. Now they have four kids: James, who’s eight and named after Ryan’s dad who passed away in 2015, Inez, who’s six, Betty, who’s four, and a baby born earlier this year, whose name and gender they haven’t told anyone yet.
Balancing work and family is pretty easy for both Hollywood stars, and they know they’re lucky. “Blake and I have the luxury of not having to work at the same time,” says Reynolds. “So our whole family can come with us when we travel for work. Most parents don’t have that. We know it’s special.”
They often travel with their moms too. But sometimes Reynolds wishes he had a superpower to help with parenting. “Regeneration would be nice,” he jokes. “If a toddler punches me in the face at night and I don’t wake up, that’d be a useful superpower.”
Reynolds grew up with strict parents, so he’s taking a different approach with his own kids. “My dad was strict, and it wasn’t fun,” he says. “I’m not perfect, but I try to set more boundaries.” He thinks it’s important to talk to kids and teach them to be kind. “Our goal is for our kids to grow up to be caring adults,” He says.
Emma Waterhouse
Writer and Editor-in-Chief at SereneWings
