Ryan Reynolds entertains Make-a-Wish kids on the set of Deadpool 2
February 21, 2018I know Ryan Reynolds is kind of a polarizing figure around these parts, but I have loved him since Just Friends and Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. I’m completely over super hero movies (sorry, Black Panther) but am kind of looking forward to Deadpool 2, because the first one was so much fun, mainly because Ryan is such an affable smart ass.
And, say what you will about the 41-year-old Canadian, he is a good guy – especially when it comes to bringing the smile to the faces of some deserving kids. On Monday, Ryan entertained a group of kids and their families from the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The actor shared photos from the moving encounter on Instagram, where he shared, “One of the best parts of playing the Big Red Jackass is welcoming @makeawishamerica and @childrenswishfoundation onto set. Deadpool kicked Cancer in the taint, but these kids do it for real every day. These foundations make dreams come true for a lot of super-brave kids.” In the caption, Ryan also gave a special shout out to the movie’s Prop Master, Dan Sissons “for making sure every kid left with his/her own sword,” clarifying that the sword were made of bamboo, and weren’t “the stabby-stabby” kind. Making the whole experience even more special, Ryan autographed each of the swords and personalized them for the kids by adding individual messages. Whatta guy.
A post shared by Ryan Reynolds (@vancityreynolds) on
Of course, since we just can’t have nice things, some commenters on Ryan’s sweet post took it upon themselves to point out that Deadpool isn’t really a movie for kids. Ryan addressed the criticisms, writing, “Yup. Deadpool is Rated R. If my kid went through a fraction of the s*** these kids deal with daily, I think they can watch whatever they like. That’s just my .02 cents.” Touché, Ryan. Way to put the haters in their place.
This isn’t the first time Ryan teamed up with Make-a-Wish. When he was working on the first Deadpool, Ryan met a young fan and Make-a-Wish kid named Connor McGrath, who sadly passed away from cancer two years ago. When Ryan shared the news on his Facebook page, he described Connor thusly, “He was smart. He was funny. And not just funny ‘for a kid’—or funny ‘for a person battling something awful’. He was unqualified funny. He had that…thing. That thing you see in great performers or comedy writers.” He added that Connor saw a rough cut of Deadpool with him before he died, and, despite seeing “huge sections with wires we hadn’t yet painted out, jokes which weren’t working (and still aren’t) and green screens,” Ryan noted that “Connor didn’t seem to mind. And I’d never felt luckier to get to be Wade Wilson.” Ryan also had a FaceTime meeting with a five-year-old boy with an inoperable brain tumor named Daniel Downing from Plympton, England. Hate him now?
In other news, Ryan is following in the footsteps of stars such as Diddy, George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Drake and Bethenny Frankel and has now gotten into the distilled spirits business. Ryan has partnered with Aviation Gin and will serve as the face of the brand and play a role in marketing and strategy for the craft brand. It’s a celebrity endorsement worthy of the man who plays an unconventional superhero, Ryan announced the partnership on Twitter, joking, “In the long and in no way disastrous marriage of showbiz and alcohol, so happy to announce I’m the proud owner of a gin company.”
In the long and in no way disastrous marriage of showbiz and alcohol, so happy to announce I’m the proud owner of a gin company… @AviationGin. pic.twitter.com/qPwe0IC6bz
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) February 21, 2018
Ryan Reynolds takes time out of his day to make sick children smile AND heads up a booze company? What’s not to love?