# How exactly does Ryan Reynolds keep getting work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280 "2013-07-23T03:25:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/21 "2013-07-23T12:33:26Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The poster boy for this, IMHO, is Leo DiCaprio. Say what you like about him, but the man picks terrific projects, and works with excellent directors; the only weak film he’s made since 2000 was _Blood Diamond_, and even that was a calculated risk, not a sell-out. Blood Diamond? Blood Diamond is better than Body of Lies, J Edgar, and The Great Gatsby ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/22 "2013-07-23T12:40:22Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > As a geek, I blame him for the wrecking of the Blade, Green Lantern, and Deadpool franchises. And now, my understanding is that RIPD, which is Men in Black meets the Sixth Sense (how do you screw that up?), was a box office bomb as well. All of those were failures unrelated to the acting or charisma of Ryan Reynolds. The writing was horrible, plotting trite, and utterly missed the appeal of the properties. And RIPD – like most concepts expressed as [tired idea X] + [tired idea Y] – was _always_ going to be a bust. I like Ryan Reynolds, despite that his directors seem content to allow him to mug on camera instead of actually acting. However, in the final analysis, when Ryan Reynolds is the only appealing thing about a film – as with that Blade movie and _Green Lantern_ (the Wolverine origin movie also had Hugh Jackman as a +) – it’s going to be a bad film. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/23 "2013-07-23T12:41:04Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The poster boy for this, IMHO, is Leo DiCaprio. Say what you like about him, but the man picks terrific projects, and works with excellent directors; the only weak film he’s made since 2000 was _Blood Diamond_, and even that was a calculated risk, not a sell-out. He also has operated at a different level than Ryan Reynolds for years. He was recognized as a great actor young (back with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) and has been offered meaty roles because of it. Reynolds is a pretty boy actor who might be good, who had been scrambling for years before becoming famous. He’s a geek, and rather than having Oscar contending roles offered to him, he trends to the comic book, sci fi world. But he is charming and handsome on screen. Its really a shame that rom-coms have pretty much died as a genre - he is fine in The Proposal (where I think his major responsibility is to take his shirt off). They both dated, and Reynolds married, Blake Lively, but other than that, they don’t exactly have a lot in common. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/24 "2013-07-23T13:00:58Z")
Speaking of rom-coms, I thought _Definitely, Maybe_ was good, and Reynolds was good in it. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/25 "2013-07-23T13:51:04Z")
> [@GovernmentMan](#): > > Possibly the dumbest post I’ve ever seen. > [@Stonebow](#): > > Wow. Are you new here? This is not even the dumbest post I’ve ever made. It would seem that I’ve found a sig block. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/26 "2013-07-23T13:53:50Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Maybe he picked bad roles, maybe it was his agent, maybe that’s all he was offered. Maybe it’s Maybelline. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/27 "2013-07-23T13:59:28Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The poster boy for this, IMHO, is Leo DiCaprio. Say what you like about him, but the man picks terrific projects, and works with excellent directors; the only weak film he’s made since 2000 was _Blood Diamond_, and even that was a calculated risk, not a sell-out. I think the comparison is a fair one. Di Caprio is an excellent actor. Ryan Reynolds is what the perception of Di Caprio was in the few years following Titanic, a moderately talented pretty boy. It hurt many films that he was in, people did not take them very seriously, \*Man in the Iron Mask \*. It killed any chance he had of being Anakin Skywalker. It took Di Caprio about a decade together over that perception. And he was an Oscar nominated actor even before Titanic. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/28 "2013-07-23T14:06:39Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Maybe it’s Maybelline. Well, then, he needs to fire Maybelline. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/29 "2013-07-23T14:13:11Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > This was less a question about Reynolds’ acting ability and more an issue with the folks that do casting. It seems clear enough to me that Reynolds is not ‘that guy’ that will put butts in seats even for a terrible movie just because he is attached, or can rise above the material. I realize those are 2 separate issues- quality v box office- but it seems he does poorly at both in so far as the big budget action genre is concerned. I’ve wondered that too. It seems like he’s gotten a lot of chances to be a big star and it hasn’t happened yet. I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but it seems like there’s been other actors who are equally talented and handsome who haven’t had as many chances. I’m guessing he keeps getting big gigs because he is talented and can be the best thing in a bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/30 "2013-07-23T14:15:10Z")
As I pointed out in the movie-remake thread; The planned \*Highlander \*remake had Ryan Reynolds in the role, until he dropped out. Just let the sheer awfullness of that casting sink in for a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Virgil\_Tibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Virgil\_Tibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgil_Tibbs)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/31 "2013-07-23T14:15:54Z")
I’ve just realised you’re not talking about Ryan Gosling. Who’s Ryan Reynolds? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/32 "2013-07-23T14:20:50Z")
I don’t have a cite at the moment but I believe Ryan Reynolds was the guy that said his chief goal was to make as much money as possible via acting, regardless of quality. It was stated more diplomatically than that, but the overall gist was that he didn’t view himself as an “artist” by any means and wanted to get while the getting was good. Of course, I could be completely misremembering who I heard all this from - but I thought it was RR. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/33 "2013-07-23T14:23:06Z")
> [@Virgil\_Tibbs](#): > > I’ve just realised you’re not talking about Ryan Gosling. Who’s Ryan Reynolds? Because it would be too difficult for you to google it? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/34 "2013-07-23T14:42:36Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > The planned \*Highlander \*remake had Ryan Reynolds in the role, until he dropped out. > > Just let the sheer awfullness of that casting sink in for a minute. … Not up to the high-quality standard of acting demonstrated by Christopher Lambert? Please. _Will Ferrell_ would even be an improvement on Lambert. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/35 "2013-07-23T14:49:23Z")
IMHO, Reynolds was pretty good in GL. The problem with that one was that the villain was lame. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/36 "2013-07-23T16:05:58Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > IMHO, Reynolds was pretty good in GL. The problem with that one was that the villain was lame. Green Lantern had a lot of problems. But none of them was Ryan Reynolds. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/37 "2013-07-23T16:13:41Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I don’t have a cite at the moment but I believe Ryan Reynolds was the guy that said his chief goal was to make as much money as possible via acting, regardless of quality. It was stated more diplomatically than that, but the overall gist was that he didn’t view himself as an “artist” by any means and wanted to get while the getting was good. > > Of course, I could be completely misremembering who I heard all this from - but I thought it was RR. It could be him, but I doubt it. Mainly because I don’t think that anyone who was in it just for the money would do a movie like Buried. It’s a low budget movie where he must not have been paid much, he was stuck in a box for the entire movie which would have been uncomfortable, had no actors to play off of other than those on the phone which must have been difficult, and there was no way it ever was going to be a big blockbuster. That’s a movie that someone does if they want to be respected as an actor, not if they just want the money. Now, maybe if he was just in it for the money, he would plan to do a movie like that, and he’d get respect and offered bigger and better roles for lots of money. But considering the other roles he’s taken, it doesn’t sound like he’s canny enough for planning like that. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/38 "2013-07-23T16:22:27Z")
Am I the first to mention his first star-turning role as [Van Wilder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lampoon's_Van_Wilder)? That movie is fantastic (as far as dumb comedies go). I remember the first time I saw it thinking he reminded me a lot of a young Chevy Chase, as far as his comic timing and delivery. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/39 "2013-07-23T16:25:34Z")
He was great in “Blue Valentine.” Oh wait, I’m thinking of Ryan Howard. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280/40 "2013-07-23T16:48:31Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Am I the first to mention his first star-turning role as [Van Wilder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lampoon's_Van_Wilder)? That movie is fantastic (as far as dumb comedies go). > > I remember the first time I saw it thinking he reminded me a lot of a young Chevy Chase, as far as his comic timing and delivery. Turns out that he was more of a young Tim Matheson. > [@Lightray](#): > > … Not up to the high-quality standard of acting demonstrated by Christopher Lambert? Please. _Will Ferrell_ would even be an improvement on Lambert. A cardboard cutout of Christopher Lambert would be an improvement on Christopher Lambert. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-ryan-reynolds-keep-getting-work/664280.md?page=3)