# Is Ryan Reynolds an A-list star? If so, WHY? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773 "2012-01-17T05:04:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/21 "2012-01-17T18:09:09Z")
He became big in Hollywood when he was in “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock. It was her BIG year, movie-wise, and the film made a bunch of money. I think he’s still riding on that. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/22 "2012-01-17T19:16:19Z")
I think he also became more “famous” in part because of his rather…successful…bulking up for the Wolverine movie. A body like that makes for great Hollywood advertising. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/23 "2012-01-17T19:36:55Z")
I recommend everyone that _doesn’t_ have severe claustrophobia go watch **Buried.** It’s on Netflix instant, even. The movie is Ryan Reynolds buried in a shallow grave, talking to various people on the phone (his kidnapper, people trying to rescue him, etc…) He does a great job with the limited scope of what he can do. And he _only barely_ channels his “inner douche” that he usually plays in movies (I have to wonder if the director had him do it on purpose as a sort of “in joke”.) Minor spoiler: In the process of calling people to get them aware of his situation, he calls his sister-in-law. Rather than say, “Hey, I’m in a lot of trouble here, can you please get me the emergency number for XYZ,” he just sort of orders her to do it, screams when she asks why, what the problem is, etc…he then gets all angry and calls her a bitch, so she hangs up on him…seems very out of character for the character he plays in that movie, but very _in_ character for almost any of his other roles… ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/24 "2012-01-17T19:52:01Z")
As a guess, a total worldwide box office of 1.5 Billion is the answer to the question. See here: [http://boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=ryanreynolds.htm](http://boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=ryanreynolds.htm). Scroll to the bottom and look at the Wordwide chart. A few genuine duds, not even pulling in a million but those are from 3-4 years ago. Last years “Fireflies in the Garden”, which I had never heard of, did nothing in the U.S. but got some play overseas. “The Whale” is a documentary that he narrates, so no big deal on a low box office (and released only in the U.S. with Reynolds as narrator.) Looking at the first listing, unadjusted for inflation Reynolds is averaging 37 mil. per movie. Not bad. He can live off of X-Men Origins and The Proposal for a few move films would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/25 "2012-01-17T19:53:49Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > The movie is Ryan Reynolds buried in a shallow grave . . . Well, I must admit, I like that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/26 "2012-01-17T19:59:58Z")
If _Green Lantern_ had been a hit, it probably would have propelled him to A-list. But it wasn’t, and so it didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/27 "2012-01-17T20:14:03Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I think he also became more “famous” in part because of his rather…successful…bulking up for the Wolverine movie. A body like that makes for great Hollywood advertising. He had already bulked up for Blade III and did a complete reversal from the goofy parts he’d played before. So maybe people started saying, “hmmm…” That’s all I got. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/28 "2012-01-17T20:21:42Z")
His role as a proto-hipster dilettante in Adventureland was excellent. Otherwise he’s a dusposable romcom player and a never-was action guy. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/29 "2012-01-18T01:29:03Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I recommend everyone that _doesn’t_ have severe claustrophobia go watch **Buried.** It’s on Netflix instant, even. > > The movie is Ryan Reynolds buried in a shallow grave, talking to various people on the phone (his kidnapper, people trying to rescue him, etc…) > > He does a great job with the limited scope of what he can do. And he _only barely_ channels his “inner douche” that he usually plays in movies (I have to wonder if the director had him do it on purpose as a sort of “in joke”.) Minor spoiler: > > In the process of calling people to get them aware of his situation, he calls his sister-in-law. Rather than say, “Hey, I’m in a lot of trouble here, can you please get me the emergency number for XYZ,” he just sort of orders her to do it, screams when she asks why, what the problem is, etc…he then gets all angry and calls her a bitch, so she hangs up on him…seems very out of character for the character he plays in that movie, but very _in_ character for almost any of his other roles… Brutal movie. Hated it. Actually Like Ryan Reynolds (Definitely, Maybe), but did not like that movie one bit - Spoiler - do not read it you plan to watch it, seriously: I actually said to my husband, this is going to end with them going to the wrong spot, isn’t it? I was so incredibly frustrated at how _stupid_ the character was, all through the movie… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/30 "2012-01-18T05:00:48Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > He had already bulked up for Blade III and did a complete reversal from the goofy parts he’d played before. So maybe people started saying, “hmmm…” > > That’s all I got. Saw it and thought he could be The Next Big Thing, being pretty, bland, and inoffensive. Brad Pitt, but taller. Didn’t happen. When he does his own _12 Monkeys_ I’ll start paying attention again. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/31 "2012-01-18T06:23:12Z")
He’s not boring. He has inate comedic timing which can’t be taught; he was born with it, just look at his face (always on the verge of breaking into a brwaaaahaaa.) And he’s cute, too. Who he beds has nothing to do with his ability. No matter what the girls want to think. 🙂 Tabloids need print; those who do, continue to do so no matter how much kelp they have to struggle with, evolving out of the ocean of Slush Pile. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/32 "2012-01-18T07:16:39Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > He has inate comedic timing which can’t be taught; he was born with it, just look at his face (always on the verge of breaking into a brwaaaahaaa.) Absolutely. The kid cracks me up, which is a natural. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/33 "2012-01-18T07:27:05Z")
He reminds me of Chevy Chase with all of the good and bad that implies. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/34 "2012-01-18T07:35:08Z")
Yeah, his comic timing is good. That’s why I was so excited when I heard he might be involved in a remake of Fletch. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/35 "2012-01-21T00:48:54Z")
Perhaps this will help. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q5dchmKr18) ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/36 "2012-01-21T01:26:02Z")
I’m not much for the “blockbuster” type movies, so I can’t really say much about his acting in the bigger budget stuff. I hadn’t really heard of him before I watched _The Nines_, and I really liked him in that one. I watched it in 2008, it was released in 2007. It’s on Netflix Instant now if anyone’s interested in giving that a go. I haven’t watched _Buried_ but it’s in my queue, and now I’m not sure if I should remove it. I’ll probably leave it there for a while. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/37 "2012-01-21T05:01:12Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > Perhaps this will help. > > [http://youtu.be/8q5dchmKr18](http://youtu.be/8q5dchmKr18) And THAT is now my favorite Ryan Reynolds Movie. He calls Betty White a seething demon. And I actually liked him in Green Lantern (after all these serious Batman-esque heroes, it was fun to have a fratboy that just thought it was _BitCHIN_! to have powers). But then that whole movie was kinda B-List. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/38 "2012-01-21T15:40:54Z")
I like him, but have enjoyed only a few of his movies, and most of his last few. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/39 "2012-01-21T16:19:15Z")
I would say not A-list if only because I do not know who Ryan Reynolds is. I don’t think I was even aware that there was some sort of celebrity by that name. I just Googled him fully expecting that I’d see his picture and go “Oh yeah, that guy who was in that thing”, but I don’t recognize him at all. It looks like the only thing he’s ever been in that I saw was _Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle_, and that was a minor role. Since a bunch of other posters here did recognize the name I am probably somewhat out of touch, but I’d say an A-list star is one whose name and face would be recognized even by those who \*are \*somewhat out of touch. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773/40 "2012-01-21T16:35:04Z")
Oops, I was thinking Ryan Gosling. Or is _he_ Reynolds?:dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ryan-reynolds-an-a-list-star-if-so-why/609773.md?page=3)