Ryan Reynolds admits he鈥檚 not always as chipper in the morning as his character in the new comedy film 鈥淔ree Guy,鈥� about an uber-positive bank teller who discovers he鈥檚 actually a background player in a violent video game.
鈥淯sually I鈥檓 woken up by, like, a stiff punch in the face from one of my kids,鈥� the Vancouver-raised star, who has three daughters with actor-wife Blake Lively, said in a recent interview.
鈥淭hey tend to sneak into the bed at night, so I get a lot of high kicks and heels to the face and that kind of stuff. I wouldn鈥檛 trade it for the world.鈥�
To channel the unfailingly happy outlook of Guy, the 鈥淒eadpool鈥� star said he found inspiration in simple-minded characters, including Peter Sellers鈥� gardener in 1979鈥檚 鈥淏eing There鈥� and Will Ferrell鈥檚 Santa helper in 2003鈥檚 鈥淓lf.鈥�
And he tapped into some 鈥渆arnest Canadian optimism,鈥� on the suggestion of the film鈥檚 Montreal-born director, Shawn Levy.
鈥淢y earliest direction to Ryan was, 鈥榊ou need to play this like your most Canadian self. This is not Wade Wilson in 鈥楧eadpool.鈥� This is 鈥淩yan, the Canadian.鈥� Just friendly, open, civil,鈥欌�� said Levy, who got an Oscar nomination for producing the film 鈥淎rrival鈥� and is executive producer/director on the Netflix series 鈥淪tranger Things.鈥�
Another homegrown element to 鈥淔ree Guy鈥�: Alex Trebek.
As seen in a trailer, the late Canadian 鈥淛eopardy!鈥� host, who died last November of cancer, is among several celebrities who make cameos in the film, which was shot in and around Boston in 2019.
鈥淚t was no surprise that he said yes, because I think we all know how stalwart and wonderful a human being he is, and there鈥檚 a reason he鈥檚 a national treasure and a global treasure,鈥� said Reynolds. 鈥淏ut having him in the movie was really special.
鈥淗e worked right up until the very end. He called me out of the blue to take part in a charity event that he was doing. This was just weeks, if not months before he passed. I have so much respect for Alex and what he built, and we鈥檙e really privileged and lucky to have had him in the film.鈥�
In theatres Friday, 鈥淔ree Guy鈥� stars Reynolds as Guy, an artificially intelligent, non-playable character (NPC) who wakes up every morning declaring it鈥檚 going to be a 鈥済reat day鈥� despite living in a video-game world filled with destruction.
鈥淜illing Eve鈥� star Jodie Comer co-stars as a real-world programmer who plays the 鈥淔ree City鈥� game and helps Guy realize he鈥檚 not a human being. Other cast members include Oscar-nominated actor-director Taika Waititi as the nefarious head of the gaming company.
Guy鈥檚 鈥淭ed Lasso鈥�-esque idealism is juxtaposed with player characters who are allowed to cause as much mayhem as they want, and Levy says that opened an opportunity to touch on brutal and misogynist elements of some games.
鈥淚t was quite an interesting challenge to make a movie that鈥檚 authentic to the gaming culture, that acknowledges the ways in which it鈥檚 wildly imperfect and 鈥� rather than just doing a two-hour polemic where we鈥檙e wagging our fingers 鈥� maybe positing another approach 鈥� that is kinder, more empathetic, more equitable and inclusive,鈥� said Levy, who directed the 鈥淣ight at the Museum鈥� movie series.
The film marks the beginning of a great Canadian collaboration between Reynolds and Levy, who are now in post-production on Netflix鈥檚 upcoming time-travel adventure feature 鈥淭he Adam Project.鈥�
鈥淥bviously we were both born on separate ends of Canada but we share a lot of the same kind of core values,鈥� said Reynolds. 鈥淚 think we share a work ethic that sometimes is also our Achilles heel, because it鈥檚 a little too intense sometimes. But I think there鈥檚 something about being from the same place that鈥檚 meaningful.鈥�
Levy said he and Reynolds share 鈥渁 certain value system as far as civility, an attempt at empathy in all interactions, an ability to take the piss out of yourself and not take yourself and whatever it is you鈥檙e doing too seriously.鈥�
鈥淎lso, between us, we have seven daughters,鈥� he added. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a real focus on being a good family dad and husband that we also share in our personal lives that I also think is just part of good moral grounding that came from being raised in Canada and away from all this noise down here in the States.鈥�
Of course, Reynolds has always been deeply connected to Canada, often donating to various homegrown charities and using his social media to draw attention to local causes.
鈥淚 look at Canada as a sort of a third parent to me, in the things that it instilled in me and as a culture and the value system,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s imperfect as the country is, like a lot of countries, I still am grateful for what it鈥檚 given me.鈥�
鈥擵ictoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press
