MARVEL STARS: Ryan Reynolds on ‘Deadpool’ Success and His Father’s Legacy

Summary

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Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist

Episode: MARVEL STARS: Ryan Reynolds on ‘Deadpool’ Success and His Father’s Legacy
Date: December 13, 2025
Guest: Ryan Reynolds
Host: Willie Geist

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and candid conversation, Willie Geist sits down with Ryan Reynolds to discuss the phenomenal success of “Deadpool and Wolverine,” the journey it took to bring Deadpool to the big screen, the joys and challenges of creative authorship, his friendship with Hugh Jackman, family life with wife Blake Lively, and — in a particularly moving segment — Reynolds’s reflections on his late father and their shared experience with Parkinson’s disease. The pair also highlight their work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, discuss the impact of Michael J. Fox, and share insights into family, resilience, and growth.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Tidal Wave of Deadpool & Wolverine’s Success

• Exceeding Expectations: Reynolds reflects on the unprecedented cultural impact and financial success of “Deadpool and Wolverine.”
  • “There’s the sort of outcome which everybody's mostly invested in. It doesn't totally match with the inner experience, which is that I miss making the movie... it never ends.” (03:31, Ryan Reynolds)
• Creative Immersion: He describes the total immersion required as actor, producer, and writer, contrasting blockbusters like Deadpool with less auteur-driven work.
  • “It's a full court press, and it is relentless, and it is a game of inches and detail... it gets a little intense.” (04:24)

2. The Deadpool Phenomenon and Collective Joy

• Cultural Resonance and Joy: Both host and guest note how the film serves as an antidote to cynicism and division.
  • “Let's make something that is just, just a fastball of joy for audiences... something that is complete, meaning that it's not a commercial for another movie.” (06:20, Reynolds)
  • “Movies, sports, and music... those are the places we can go together.” (10:43, Geist)
• Collective Effervescence: Reynolds credits the communal theater experience as a reason for the film’s record-breaking run.
  • “It's that high you get from that experience. And I love that the movie reinforces that thesis...” (09:00, Reynolds)

3. The Origin Story & Reynolds' Creative Authorship

• The Infamous Leaked Footage: Reynolds jokes about the unsolved “leaker” mystery that ushered in the era of Deadpool.
  • “We're hunting this person down... He's not great. No, he's not. No. Not good at the job. Spineless... Just a human jellyfish just taking your money.” (12:48-13:01, Reynolds)
• Career Pivot and Authorship: He discusses how Deadpool marked a turning point, allowing him creative agency and a sense of fulfilling the trust placed in him.
  • “This is the first time I was really gratified by returning the investment that someone made in me... Part of how that happened, I think, was authorship...” (13:26, Reynolds)
  • “Deadpool changed my life in that way...” (13:26)

4. Bringing Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) into the Fold

• Convincing Hugh Jackman: Reynolds describes the process of engaging Jackman, who was initially reluctant to revisit Wolverine after “Logan.”
  • “One of the first pitches I'd crafted for Kevin Feige was in fact, a Wolverine Deadpool film... Marvel just wasn't ready.” (15:12, Reynolds)
  • “Hugh, on August 14, 2022, stopped his car on the LIE and called me... he was like, I want to come back.” (16:50)
• Spontaneous Pitch Success: The greenlight for the film followed a spur-of-the-moment pitch to Marvel, driven by Jackman’s sudden enthusiasm.
  • “It’s a real testament to that fake it till you make it thing... I pitched a story out of, like, it came right out of my butt...” (17:10)

5. The Future of Deadpool

• Will There Be More? Reynolds is unsure, emphasizing quality over quantity and the value of “scarcity and surprise” for the character.
  • “Deadpool tends to work best utilizing scarcity and surprise... I have no plans at the moment. And I'm not making that up.” (18:26, Reynolds)

6. Family, Success, and Rivalry with Blake Lively

• Box Office Rivals, Real Life Partners: Reynolds warmly discusses his wife Blake Lively’s simultaneous success, her nuanced portrayal in “It Ends With Us,” and their mutual support.
  • “Only time in my life I’ve ever dreamt of coming in second. I think that would have been, yeah. And there are moments like the numbers are always different.” (21:10, Reynolds)
  • “You know, it’s always been the one kind of constant with Blake and I is that, like, we really root for each other.” (21:34)

7. Revisiting the Past: Fathers and Legacy

• Reflections on His Father: Reynolds opens up about reevaluating his memories and myths about his late father since becoming a dad himself.
  • “I think the things that I did not like about my father are actually the things that I didn’t like about me. And I think he’s an easy dartboard for that.” (23:57, Reynolds)
  • “I always had a fear that I would be. My dad was a mystery to me... But as I’ve grown into fatherhood... I see how I am not necessarily him. And that relief that came with that allowed me to revisit the past.” (25:15)
• On Regret and Growth: He and Geist swap stories about how even the hardest experiences, or their parents’ most glaring imperfections, shaped them for the better.
  • “Even my worst mistakes, they offered me these crazy avenues of learning, and I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't [mess] up in those moments or screw up...” (26:57, Reynolds)

8. Parkinson’s Disease: Awareness, Support, and Advocacy

• Shared Experience with Parkinson’s: Both have fathers diagnosed young, and both reflect on the denial, silence, and pride of that generation.
  • “My dad said Parkinson’s, I think, three times... in his entire life.” (27:31, Reynolds)
  • “I can also see why neurological condition might sound a little bit less threatening or vulnerable than Parkinson's disease.” (27:57)
• Current Advocacy & Initiatives: Reynolds and his mom are working with Acadia Pharmaceuticals to raise awareness about symptoms (like hallucinations) and the resources now available for families.
  • “Had I known, I think I would have handled it better... My father would have felt way less alone...” (29:44)
• The Unsung Role of Caregivers: He describes the profound, often invisible toll on his mother.
  • “Caregiver fatigue... the amount of difficulty and pain and isolation she felt that she just kind of swallowed down...” (35:06, Reynolds)
  • “It was a turning point for her own agency to remember that she's alive and vital... and for me, too, just to pay that forward with my mom...” (36:26)

9. Legacy, Resilience, and Michael J. Fox

• Michael J. Fox’s Profound Impact: Both reflect on Fox’s example and the enormous influence of the Michael J. Fox Foundation — not just for patients, but the broader community.
  • “What he's done is a great cultural judo move. To redirect energy into something that made millions of people, not just in America, Canada, all over the world, feel less alone.” (41:02, Reynolds)
  • “He embraced the vulnerability that I think a lot of people would struggle with, especially someone in the public eye.” (41:45)
• Enduring Example: Fox’s message is clear: don’t retreat in the face of adversity, keep moving and create something lasting for others.
  • “You don’t have to retreat if you get Parkinson's disease. It's not retreat and go and it's over. It's, no, no, go, go, go, go.” (43:12, Geist)
  • “Also, the fact that he created the Michael J. Fox foundation, which is literally, like he always says, designed to go out of business, that he will have done his job if that business is dead.” (43:54, Reynolds)

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Notable Quotes

• Ryan Reynolds, on creating Deadpool:
  • “You don’t finish a movie, you abandon it. In our case, myself and Shawn Levy, we didn’t necessarily finish the movie. It was pried out of our hammerlock death grip in an edit room because it was time.” (03:31)
• On living with success:
  • “I feel like I’m sort of playing with the house’s money sometimes. So it allows me some fleeting glimpses of objectivity around what’s happening.” (06:20)
• On family and change:
  • “People do change. You actually can change your own past... as you look back and actually sort of try to understand how did I utilize the story I had...” (21:34)
• On his father’s legacy:
  • “The memories of my father, they’re not, like an intellectual thing. They’re a DNA thing... The parts of myself that I’m most proud of are real elements of my dad and his stamp and my mom certainly as well.” (37:47)
• On Michael J. Fox:
  • “Michael’s like a genuine trailblazer. And how many people get to say they’re a trailblazer in several different industries?” (41:45)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Deadpool & Wolverine’s success and creative process: 03:10 – 08:46
• On the impact of communal moviegoing (“collective effervescence”): 09:00 – 10:43
• Deadpool origin story and leaked footage: 12:48 – 13:26
• Convincing Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine: 14:38 – 17:57
• Future of Deadpool: 18:02 – 19:15
• Dual box office rivalry with Blake Lively: 19:30 – 22:06
• Reflecting on his father and legacy: 23:11 – 27:01
• Parkinson’s diagnosis and generational silence: 27:13 – 29:20
• On hallucinations, advocacy, and caregivers: 29:44 – 37:14
• Legacy of Michael J. Fox: 40:26 – 44:03

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Memorable Moments

• Willie and Ryan joking about the never-solved “Deadpool test footage leak” and the tongue-in-cheek pursuit of the leaker (12:48).
• Ryan’s candid story of blacking out during the Marvel pitch that resurrected Wolverine (“it came right out of my butt”)—and how spontaneity led to historic success (17:10).
• Heartfelt, vulnerable reflections on fatherhood, the limits of memory, and revisiting narratives about their dads—emotional moments rarely shared in celebrity interviews (23:44, 35:06).
• Ryan’s admiration for Blake Lively’s approach to her role in “It Ends With Us,” especially her resistance to a “victim mindset” and commitment to showing female agency (21:39).
• The pair’s emotional recognition of their mothers’ strength as caregivers (35:06).
• Tribute to Michael J. Fox’s unique and enduring legacy, both as an actor and a philanthropist (41:02–43:54).

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Tone & Style

Warm, introspective, at times funny and irreverent (Reynolds’s hallmark), but ultimately profoundly sincere and moving. Both Willie Geist and Ryan Reynolds are open, frank, and affectionate—willing to laugh at themselves, their families, and Hollywood, while earnestly advocating for Parkinson’s awareness and familial empathy.

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For listeners seeking takeaways, this episode is a testament to joy—on and off screen—resilience in the face of adversity, and the power of re-examining and rewriting the stories we tell about our families and ourselves.

Transcript

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[Willie Geist]

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Got a great one dialed up for you this week with the man of the moment in Hollywood. He is Ryan Reynolds. His film Deadpool and Wolverine recently became the single highest grossing R rated film in the history of Hollywood. No R rated movie ever made has made more money than did Deadpool and Wolverine, which co stars his real life buddy Hugh Jackman. If you don't know the story about Deadpool, Ryan, of course has had a great career before Deadpool, lots of romantic comedies and other films, but he really wanted to make this movie about a comic book character that he knew called Deadpool that had kind of a cult following, couldn't get a studio to get behind it and ultimately had some, well, let's say test footage, animated test footage, made a couple of minutes of what the movie might look like. Mysteriously, as you'll hear us discuss in a second, that footage found its way onto the Internet and fans went crazy demanding a standalone Deadpool movie. They got it. The first one in 2016 became a hit, two more since, and now this record smashing edition this summer in Deadpool and Wolverine. You you know, Ryan, I'm not gonna get big wind up on who he is. A great guy, a guy I've known for just over a decade and we bonded because both of our fathers have Parkinson's disease. We're both on the board of the Michael J. Fox foundation and he's given so much of his time and his fame and his platform to helping the cause, to trying to Find a cure, along with the great Michael J. Fox for Parkinson's disease. So we talk a bit about a new campaign he's working on to raise some awareness about Parkinson's. We talk about our dads. We're. We talk about our mutual friend Michael J. Fox, and a lot about movies and a lot about Deadpool. And by the way, the competition this summer with his wife, Blake Lively, and her movie at the box office, it ends with us. So sit back, relax, and please enjoy Ryan Reynolds right now on the Sunday Sit down podcast. Thanks for doing this, man. Good to see you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thanks for having me. Nice to see you as well.

[Willie Geist]

I feel like I'm catching you as you've just come back to the beach off this tidal wave of Deadpool and Wolverine, which even, I think you would admit has exceeded all of your expectations with how popular it is and how part of the culture it's become. What does it feel like to kind of be on the other side of it, given everything you put into it?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think, well, you know, it feels good. You know, those things are always a little anticlimactic, I think, because there's the sort of outcome which everybody's mostly invested in. It doesn't totally match with the inner experience, which is that I miss making the movie and I miss being. I miss. I just miss working on it. Because it never ends. When you shoot one of those movies, you never stop writing, you never stop pushing, you never stop trying to improve. And you keep doing that because they say there's an old expression. You don't finish a movie, you abandon it. In our case, myself and Shawn Levy, we didn't necessarily finish the movie. It was pried out of our hammerlock death grip in an edit room because it was time. And, yeah, even now, I've seen it at a couple premieres where I still have things I wish I could just, you know.

[Willie Geist]

Is it always that way, though, when you make a movie? Yeah.

[Commercial Announcer]

No.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, it isn't. It is. It is, because I can make a movie where I just show up and act right, and I leave and I, you know, check my code at the door, and that's it, you know, and then there's other movies, you know, like this, where it's just. It's the reason. It's been six years, I think, since the last one. It's just. It's a full court press, and it is relentless, and it is a game of inches and detail and. And I love that. But it's so immersive. It's just hard to Be a dad, a hus, and somebody who's producing and writing and performing in a movie gets a little intense.

[Willie Geist]

The other two Deadpool movies were huge. I mean, they were big movies, but this feels like something even bigger than that. Does it feel that way from where you're sitting in terms of the resonance and the way it's connecting with people?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I think to have a movie that I've been here before, when Deadpool 1 was started as kind of a curiosity. And it really benefited in that moment from an underdog story to Deadpool 2, which certainly isn't an underdog story, but I thought was fun to explore something a little bit more emotional and then to this, which seems to have gone to this whole other kind of level in our zeitgeist that I was not expecting. I don't ever think about this when they start to prognosticate on what it might do or what tracking and all that kind of stuff. I would say like the greatest cinematic villain ever written is expectation and her twin brother tracking. So, you know, I sort of keep that. And I'm also, you know, at this point where we are with the movie and everything that's happened around it and it becoming the biggest, you know, R rated film ever. I am at an age where I can. I actually know what to do with that. Like I'm actually at an age where I can. I feel, I feel like I can process that. I feel like I can enjoy that where I don't know that I could have when I was younger at all.

[Willie Geist]

That's interesting. What does that mean exactly? What is something about emotionally where you are right now?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know, I'm 47. I'm starting to kind of see, you know, that it's very apparent that life is fleeting and fast and too fast for the most part. And you know, I've got some mileage under me. I have a family and by having a family I feel like I'm sort of playing with the house's money sometimes. So it allows me some these fleeting glimpses of objectivity around what's happening. And I see that this movie struck a chord with people and, and I see that the intention with which we entered into this storytelling process, not to over mythologize it's, you know, this character or this movie, but, but went into it with like, let's make this something that is just, just a fastball of joy for audiences. Let's make something that is like anti cynicism, pure optimism, bathtubs of Serotonin onto the brains and. And something that is complete, meaning that it's not a commercial for another movie. There isn't some tag at the end that says, you know, stay tuned because the story unfolds even more. You know, I'd say I wanted people to go and have a. Have a full and complete experience and walk out of a theater like, you know, walking on sunshine. I mean, genuinely just. And you know, the friendship that I have with Hugh and with Shawn Levy, you know, and that sort of trio is something that I miss every day. Like I miss just being on set. We hang out and we talk every day. But it was fun last week walking around. I walked around New York City with Hugh and it was wild to walk around. It felt like we maybe saved a baby from a burning building or something. It was like, you know, it's just a movie, so it's like, let's not get crazy here. But it was pretty wild. People really, really found a lot of love and joy and happiness in the movie. And that's the thing I'm most proud of.

[Willie Geist]

It is joy. And as I mentioned, I saw it Yesterday morning at 11:45am on IMAX.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What a time to see it.

[Willie Geist]

It was hot.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hot. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

I was like, are you guys open 11? So it was me and maybe a couple other guys scattered throughout the theater. And it was pure joy from the minute. I don't want to give anything away because a lot of people are still gonna go see it from that opening scene.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, it just starts.

[Willie Geist]

I'm not even gonna say what happens because people need to go see it, but people know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But you know, you also like, you also got to see it where you got to hear everything. I've never seen it where you get to hear all the. Oh, I've certainly sat in an editing room for 600 years working on the movie. So I know everything that's in it. But I. The being in theater experiences with. With folks attending, you don't hear half the stuff because they're laughing over before and you missed it sort of. It's kind of cool to see it.

[Willie Geist]

No, it was incredible. I got it all. So does it mean a lot to you that this will be the highest grossing R rated movie in the history of films? Is that something you couldn't have expected it again, but is that something a little feather in the cap?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I mean, I don't want to. I don't want to. I don't want to place overemphasize the importance of that because I don't think it's, like, actually important, but I do think it is an important. Important testament to theaters and that experience of like. Of collective effervescence, which is this idea that you're in a movie theater, you're sitting there next to other people, whether they're, you know, we live in a world where everything's divided. I'm this, you're that. You know, them versus us. And, you know, sports and movies, the things that they have in common that I think are really beautiful and powerful is that they bring people together in smart, fun, and unexpected ways, and they allow people to have an experience together that celebrates togetherness like nothing else. And I love that when you go see a sporting event or go see a movie, doesn't matter what color shirt you're wearing, what you do, what you think, what your belief system is, any of that stuff, we're all watching the same thing. We're all enjoying the same thing. We're all having the same experience. And that's collective effervescence to me. That's that high you get from that experience. And I love that the movie reinforces that thesis, which we've basically known for 100 years since the Lumiere brothers, but we still, I think, need to be reminded of it now and again.

[Willie Geist]

It's so funny you say that. I told you, I just got back from the Olympics, and I had the thought there of, like, oh, right, this is who we are, this bond we're feeling in this arena right now. And then I went to your movie, and I think the success of it is a commentary about what people want, which is they want to feel joy, they want to be together. So in these times when we're just like. Like you say, right down the middle, and we're being told we're divided, and maybe we're not actually as divided as we think we are. So movies, sports, and music, right? Those are the. Those are the places we can go together.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Working with people. I love working with people who have different, you know, ideals and different kind of ideas of life and that sort of. I just think it's interesting to meet it with curiosity as opposed to, you know, finding some sort of binary kind of way of expressing it or finding some sort of placing a value judgment on it. You know, I don't know. As I get older, I'm. I think I'm better at observation as opposed to evaluation. Like, constantly evaluating everything and everyone. And, like, when you just observe, I find my stress level goes down. I find I'm a little bit Less of a personally. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Thank God finally got to that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thank you. I know, right? You knew you'd crack me Geist. Got it.

[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Ryan Reynolds right after the break with Venmo.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Willie Geist]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Willie Geist]

You gift the good stuff, even at the last minute. Find a Marshall's near you. Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Ryan Reynolds. I was thinking about the. Because almost 10 years, 10 years ago this summer is when somebody leaked video online.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. We're hunting this person down.

[Willie Geist]

Last time we talked, and it's been a while.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I've got my best man on it. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

He doesn't seem like that great of a man.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He's not great. No, he's not. No. Not good at the job. Spineless.

[Willie Geist]

Just.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Just a human jellyfish just taking your money.

[Willie Geist]

10 years.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, this retainer is out of control.

[Willie Geist]

But that's been 10 years. And I was thinking about you. The way this movie has done, sort of putting yourself out there. This is a pivot point in your career and your life, honestly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

And to see it succeed this way from where you were 10 years ago, just hoping somebody would like the video that was leaked online, that's got to be an amazingly gratifying thing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Changed, you know, I mean, part of, like, also Like, I mean, I, you know, I've done a lot of. More so a while ago, like a lot of different kind of work. And I've worked in movies that I think are really good. I mean, they're really well crafted films that maybe didn't make any money or any of that, but, like, might have been, like, you know, celebrated critically or audiences might have really loved it, but, like, it just did, for whatever reason, didn't catch fire. But I loved. I was. This is the first time I was really gratified by returning the investment that someone made in me. And I thought, like, that was kind of something I wanted to kind of carry with me as I kept moving forward in my career. And part of how that happened, I think, was authorship, was having some authorship over how the story's told or how this, how this, this, this little tale or this little piece of IP that I'm lucky enough to play with, how it's shaped. And I. That changed my life. Deadpool changed my life in that way. And yeah, I mean, no company, even Disney, deserves to make a billion dollars off of a comic book movie. But hey, I mean, I am proud of the fact that that. Not the money part of it, but I'm proud of the fact that that is a testament to butts in seats and people coming to see something that you worked on harder than maybe anything in my life.

[Willie Geist]

And as you said, part of the joy is working with your dear friend Hugh on this. I was looking back at an interview I did with him six years or so ago, and you had kind of floated the idea of this. Maybe I always wanted it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

And he shut it down so fast. He said, nobody wants to see Wolverine again. Maybe a cameo. We're not doing a movie. And here we are. So how did you get him around to it?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, he always, you know, publicly, we messed with each other a lot. But, like, he was always. He'd announced his retirement from Logan three days before Deadpool 1 came out, and he saw it and he kind of went, oh, that would have been fun to see that. And it was just this kind of, you know, thought that kind of, you know, flew in and out of his mind every now and again. But then we always see each other. He and I, like, have very thoughtful conversations. We go for a lot of walks in New York and just chat. And it's one of my favorite things to do in the world. Probably like once or twice a week when we're both in town, we're like, you know, out doing that. And we'd always talk about it. We'd always talk about, like, oh, man, there's gotta be a way to do this. And, you know, one of the first pitches I'd crafted for Kevin Feige was in fact, a Wolverine Deadpool film that was told in the style of Rashomon. You know, a first act that is through Deadpool's point of view, second act through Wolverine's point of view. And the third act being subjective. And that's the hero's tale, the third act. And I was really excited about it. Marvel just wasn't ready. They just couldn't quite wrap their heads around how we would resurrect this iconic and legendary character after a masterpiece like Logan, the movie Logan that James Mangold did. And I said, who cares about a masterpiece? Let's just dig up his old man river bones and stab some bad guys. So, yeah, it just came about with. Out of frustration, really. I mean, Hugh, on August 14, 2022, he stopped his car on the LIE. And I called me. And, you know, when somebody calls in this day and age, you're like, are you dead? You've died, but you're talking, what's happening here? Where do they have you? They're holding a gun to your head. You know, it was that kind of thing. And he was like, I want to come back. I just want to do it. You know, wow. So he really kind of authored his own return. And then, ironically, I had a meeting that day with Kevin and Feige on a zoom. Shawn Levy and I, we were gonna pitch him our sort of last gasp pitch. Cause we just tried to find something that would work. And. And. And, you know, and then we were gonna say, we're gonna punt. Shawn and I were gonna say, we're gonna go do another movie. We'd both written one already that was ready to go, and we'll revisit Deadpool later. But Hugh had called that day, and I just pitched it.

[Willie Geist]

Wow.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But it's a real testament to that fake it till you make it thing. Cause I pitched a story out of, like, it came right out of my butt. Like, I had no. I did no plan for it. But this idea of a Wolverine comes back. He's not the same Wolverine. He's maybe the worst Wolverine. And his suit isn't just a suit. It's a hair shirt. You know, it's his own kind of punishment. His suit is basically his punishment. And that's what he's wearing. It's his shame. And I loved. I loved that. And I loved. And it all Kind of came about. Just bull on the zoom.

[Willie Geist]

Right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Suddenly you're, like, locked in. We're text messaging underneath the zoom, like, that's the story that's gonna work. And then. Yeah, and then we took a lot of direction from Hugh as well, who's known this character better than anybody.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's how it's scary to write. Write Wolverine dialogue is like the scariest thing I've ever done in my life.

[Willie Geist]

So you basically blacked out on a zoom. And on the other side of that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Was historic moment in old school with Will Ferrell.

[Willie Geist]

Exactly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Speaks like. Like algebra fluently. And in the debate. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or something. I forget what it was. Something like that was a debate.

[Willie Geist]

So I know how Hollywood works. This feels like a good end to Deadpool, but if you make a billion dollars, they want more. Do we feel like Deadpool has a future?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I. I don't know. Like, I'm not being coy. I genuinely don't know. I do know that Deadpool tends to work best utilizing scarcity and surprise, I think. And so I don't know. It has to be the right reason. Also, this is kind of ticked every box that I would ever hope for the character. Also, I think that Deadpool is a born supporting character. I don't think he's actually, like, that meant to be, like, a lead protagonist. He works, operates much better as a supporting character. So I could see that. I could see popping it. I do like writing these in this world, so I would love to keep doing that. Be it Deadpool's involvement or no involvement. I don't know. But I don't know. I don't. I have no plans at the moment. And I'm not making that up. I know people are like, oh, you guys are already. Nope.

[Willie Geist]

I didn't mean to rush you along. Let's celebrate this one for a minute. This is great.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thanks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you.

[Willie Geist]

Would you enjoy it for two days?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. That's not. Yeah, exactly. I think it's. Yeah. We're gonna take some time off and just rest and recoup and be parents.

[Willie Geist]

And as you may know, you're not the only one in your home with a very successful movie right now. You and Blake won two at the box office.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ends with us. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Incredible film. Incredible performance by her.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean, amazing. Yeah. I don't know. It just seems like one of those. Something is. Are we in a sim? Like, what's. I don't understand what's happening here. And, you know, and just so unbelievably. Proud of how she's navigated that film and really kind of dug into the sort of core values that she sees in this character of a woman who contains multitudes and a woman who is not defined by any one transgression, a man made, that she still gets to experience her joy and complexity and all these things. She really grabbed onto some ideas that dum dum over here never would have. I grasped, I think, and I was like, oh, God, that is interesting to create or to portray a character who isn't just rooted in this victim mindset, to portray somebody who has had something terrible happen to them, but somebody who can rise above that and see that you're not going to be defined by this thing. You still get to be who you choose to be. You get to have your joy and your multifaceted life. And I thought it was such a fascinating and smart direction. Yeah, it was. I'm really excited for her. I'm really excited for, you know, all those folks around. It's pretty great.

[Willie Geist]

Despite your successful and happy marriage, you're famously vicious professional rivals. So did you say to her, I beat you by that much at the box office?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Only time in my life I've ever dreamt of coming in second. I think that would have been, yeah. And there are moments like the numbers are always different. So, like, Friday she beat us, she beat that. Saturday we beat her. And they like, you know, so Monday, today they beat us. So I love that, but I just like. Yeah, no, I think that's like the sign of a good relationship, be it a friendship or a marriage or anything is rooting for each other. You know, it's always been the one kind of constant with Blake and I is that, like, you know, we really root for each other. And I think that I never really realized it until recently. I think that's a hallmark of a good relationship, of a healthy relationship, you know, wanting someone else to win, like Hugh. I mean, when I'm being friends with Hugh, I want him to win. I want to see him succeed, you know, I want to see him grow and kick. And I love that. I love that people do grow and change. As I was sort of like, was thinking about this last night, a bit like, you know, you. Everyone sort of feels like people don't change. People don't, you know, But I actually believe that they really do. I was thinking about some of the stories I have about myself. I think about some of the, like, just head scratching mistakes that I've made in my life and that how lucky I've been to have the Runway to grow from those and the opportunity to learn from many of those mistakes. And I think about the stories I have of myself when I'm younger, and it changes. My dad is a great example, too. Like, I have stories about my dad that I've held onto forever, and I have to revisit them because I have to ask myself, is that true? Is it that black and white? Is it that? And it's not. People do change. You actually can change your own past, I think, in that way, too, as you look back and actually sort of try to understand how did I utilize the story I had for myself or the story I had about my dad in order to make something else make sense, you know?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, it's interesting. You have this, what becomes almost family mythology, and then you get to a certain age, and you start thinking, was that what I thought it was? Did that happen the way I remember it?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Or the myth doesn't actually make sense, now that I think about it. You go back and investigate the myth and kind of pull it apart a little bit. And maybe people don't know, but something you and I share is that both of our dads have or had Parkinson's disease. It's kind of how we first got to know each other through the Michael J. Fox Foundation. And we're coming up almost a decade since your dad passed away.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, 2015. Yeah, yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Coming up on that. Anyway, as you sit now and look back on your dad's journey through Parkinson's, what do you think now at this point in your life?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think. I don't think about his disease, really. I don't ever think about that. I think about, like, the. I think about how I sort of shaped our relationship, the narrative of our relationship. And I see so much more. I see, as I've gotten older and I'm a father, so many things I. The brush I painted my father with the idea that he screwed this thing up, or he always did this and never did this. The stuff says, I don't know if that's that true, you know? And I think the things that I did not like about my father are actually the things that I didn't like about me. And I think he's an easy dartboard for that. So, like. And the man made mistakes. Trust. I'm not saying that he didn't. I'm not paving over that. You know, those moments with some sort of fairy tale. But I also know that, like, it is not that simple, and it's taught me a lot of Lessons in life in general. Just like how my own perception of people in the world isn't as reliable as maybe I like to think it is.

[Willie Geist]

So what brought you around to that, Ryan? Was it having your own kids and evaluating what that meant to be a father?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I think I always had a fear that I would be. My dad was a mystery to me, right. So I didn't really ever have, I think, conversations with him. Like, conversations where I felt like we were really talking, like he's showing me who he is as a person or what his core value system really is, or, you know, he sort of spoke in catchphrases. You know, it was like a strange kind of thing. And I. As I've become. As I've grown into fatherhood and, you know, kind of grown into it and understanding that, like, the last great loves I will ever have are my kids. You know, I see those things coming out. Like, I see how I am not necessarily him. And that relief that came with that allowed me to kind of revisit the past and go, okay, well, yeah, why did I do that? Why did I romanticize this man as being kind of deficient as a father or any of those things? And for sure, there were moments that I look back, I'm like, that was not good parenting at all. But there are a lot of moments where I think. I think other things, too, where he was there. You know, he's the guy who's there. He's always there at a football game, he's always there at a baseball game. Even if he wasn't speaking to me about something, he was still there in his trench coat across the way, working his off every single day for his four kids. And, you know, we didn't have any money, but we had a roof over our head and we had, you know, some food in the fridge. And, like, that's enough. When you could look back at it. And I also think, like, all those. I don't know if you have this too, but you think about every experience you've had, good and bad, they all led to here, right? So, like, people like, oh, do you have any regrets, or would you go back and change something? Even my worst mistakes, they offered me these crazy avenues of learning, and I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't up in those moments or screw up?

[Willie Geist]

Totally agree. No, totally agree. I mean, it's. I was reading through your sort of your dad's story, and my gosh, is it almost shot for shot? Our story, which is diagnosed at a pretty young Age. My dad.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Your dad was 47.

[Willie Geist]

47. And denial. For a long time. In fact, we didn't name it for a long time. I was a teenager, so I didn't think through it enough.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But that age. That age group, too, I think, is very prideful. And, like, you know, I didn't. My dad. Now, my dad said Parkinson's, I think, three times. Wow.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

In his entire life.

[Willie Geist]

To me, generational and the kind. My dad's from the Midwest. It's a little more. You know, they didn't have therapists in the town where he lives.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, no, no.

[Willie Geist]

But. But the idea that it took years before we named it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

And it was always the neurological thing. Like, that has a neural. And then finally my sister and I were like, is the neurological thing Parkinson's disease?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yes.

[Willie Geist]

The Michael J. Fox. And they go, well, yes, it is. So that was kind of your experience as well.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Absolutely. But I can also see why neurological condition might sound a little bit less threatening or vulnerable than Parkinson's disease. Or disease. It was my experience. Exactly. To a T. Like you and I and your pop. I mean, we. Yeah, that's the same. Exact same roadmap. And I understand it. You know, I get it. My dad was, like, a prideful kind of guy. I think his physical strength was. His was a huge asset to him. You know, he didn't go to college. He didn't do that, and all those things that, like, you know, he wanted for us to do. And, boy, did I let him down there. But he. Yeah, he was very prideful. And that's a. That's a. I think that is very common in that. That age group and those folks who, you know, lived in. That grew up in that era, you know, and it's interesting to see, like, how now, like, we, you know, having kids at our age and our, you know, it's just so different. There's so many tools available to us. There's so many, like, resources available to. You know, my kids. Never believe it, but, you know, when Blake and I will go out for dinner or something like that, the entire time is spent talking about how can we be better parents? Like, how can we, like, address their needs in ways. It's just like, I can't even imagine my parents having those conversations without. Right. Yeah. Just going, oh, God, this feels like chemotherapy. The cancer's gone. Let's enjoy dinner. Let's just live in here forever. It's so true.

[Willie Geist]

We go to these restaurants and sit at that table and just talk about our kids.

[Commercial Announcer]

Yes.

[Willie Geist]

In Two hours.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Pictures and videos of our kids.

[Willie Geist]

Exactly. That's who we are. It's what we do. So you're teaming up with Acadia Pharmaceuticals, and because of some of the things you saw in your father and your mom saw in your father over the years. And you think it's important that people look for some of these signs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, you know, it's working with the Michael J. Fox foundation for so many years as well. Just like I got, you know, sometimes it's like drinking information out of a fire hose. You know, you kind of get a lot of information quite quickly. And this is one disease where I think, you know, there's an enormous sort of leapfrog effect in the knowledge people have about how it works. What are some of these other symptoms around it? And a lot of this is based in wishing that I had some kind of resource when my dad was sort of at the apex of his disease and sickness. And if I'd understood some of these symptoms, I mean, you know, the fact that my dad was experiencing hallucinations and he was experiencing delusional thoughts, and I didn't. I had no idea that I just kind of cast it as, oh, he's losing his marbles. Yeah, he's losing his eyes. His mind is kind of going, you know, and that's a. I would be horrified if somebody, you know, did that with me. You know, I'd be horrified if people sort of just, you know, threw this sort of like, pedantic kind of dog bone diagnosis out like that. I wish we'd known. Like, I wish we'd known that that was a side effect. And if, you know, because I think it's. Nearly half of all Parkinson's patients experience this. And I had I known, I think I would have handled it better. I think I would have been a much more patient person. I think my father would have felt way less alone. I mean, you know, especially the last few years of his life, he's so isolated. I mean, it was just because he was not. He had no. Kind of. Didn't seem like he had too much of a grip on reality. And of course, Parkinson's at its advanced days. I'm not sure if your dad is there where you can't really hear his voice very well. And when you do hear it, it's. I don't understand where he is in his mind. So he must have just felt horribly alone. And I was so kind of limp, I had no idea how to. How to help him or talk to him even, you know, and I found that I kind of shut him out a little bit. And I look back at it with some, you know, some not regret so much as just wishing I'd known some of this stuff before. There might have been, you know, I don't think there were treatments available for this particular symptom back then, but there are now. And, you know, I said it to my brother a while ago. He had a knee replacement surgery. I was like, it's nice getting a knee replacement surgery in 2024 and not 1986. You know, like, it's, you know, and we'll say that again about 2045.

[Willie Geist]

That's right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, and go, thank God it's not 2024.

[Willie Geist]

Right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, but here and now, there's, like, amazing things happening and, you know, amazing science, treatments, and all kinds of stuff. So really, it's just about sharing that story and letting people know that, like, you're not really alone in it. Like, it's. You don't have to have the same experience I had or my mom had or my brother's had. You can, you know, you can really actually affect some change. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

And even just hearing you say it, maybe they can identify it. Oh, this is something specific that we can do something about instead of having the reaction that I would have had and you had, which is like, I don't know what to do. Seems like he's losing it. Stick around for more. My conversation with Ryan Reynolds right after a quick break.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

A $500 Edit credit. Chase Sapphire Reserve. Now even more rewarding. Learn [e-mail] Sapphire Reserve cards issued by JP Morgan, Chase bank and a member FDIC subject to credit approval. Welcome back to Listen to youo Heart. I'm Jerry and I'm Jerry's Heart.

[Willie Geist]

Today's Repatha Evolocumab Heart. Why'd you pick this one? Well, Jerry, for people who have had.

[Ryan Reynolds]

A heart attack like us, diet and exercise might not be enough to lower the risk of another one.

[Willie Geist]

Okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To help know if we're at risk, we should be getting our ldlc, our bad cholesterol checked, and talking to our doctor. I'm listening.

[Willie Geist]

And if it's still too high, Repatha can be added to a statin to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Lower our LDL C and our heart attack risk. Hmm.

[Willie Geist]

Guess it's time to ask about Repatha.

[Commercial Announcer]

Do not take Repatha if you are allergic to it. Serious allergic reactions can occur get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat or arms. Common side effects include runny nose, sore throat, common cold symptoms, flu or flu like symptoms. Back pain, high blood sugar and redness. Pain or bruising at the injection site.

[Willie Geist]

Listen to your heart.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ask your doctor about Repatha. Learn [e-mail] or call 1-844-repatha before the.

[Commercial Announcer]

Trophy and bragging rights are rightfully yours. Before your sleeper turns. In a season no one saw coming before stats and projections turn into points on the board and your lineup falls perfectly into place, you flip the lid on a can of on nicotine pouches. And as you make your first pick, you know this is the season where fantasies going to surpass reality. It's on products for tobacco consumers 21 years of age or older. Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Willie Geist]

Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Ryan Reynolds. Your mom, your wonderful mother is an important part of this effort as well. I don't think people fully appreciate the role of the spouse, the caregiver, the toll it takes on her.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Caregiver, fatigue, caregivers, fatigue.

[Willie Geist]

She, my mom is the same way. And I get emotional talking about it because, man, they go through it in a way that if you're not there every day, you don't fully appreciate.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No. And you can, you know, I got emotional thinking about it too, but like, you know, the amount of, you know, difficulty and pain and isolation she felt that she just kind of swallowed down and never, you know, and I don't really want to get into like what hallucinations or what kind of delusional experiences my father was having as a result of this disease because I don't want it to feel anecdotal. But I do know, and I can say with some degree of confidence that it was very traumatic for my mother. And like I, you know, she would never say a word to any of us, but I could hear it in her voice. And I remember, you know, you know, that feeling when you just, just prod a little bit more and then it like comes out. And I remember her having just the worst time, you know, just being in actual hell. And I just remember flew to, out to, I was living in la, this is many, many, many years ago. And I, I flew home and just packed her stuff and we're going, let's go. Yeah, this is not, you're not gonna spend another day doing this. Not because you don't want to, because you're not qualified to do this. And that was, I think, a turning point for her. It was a turning point for her own agency to remember that she's alive and vital and, you know. Yeah. And. Yeah, and for me, too, just to be able to, like, you know, pay that forward with my mom, who's always been there. Billie's been kind of a source of, like, a wellspring of compassion, and she's the reason I'm tactile with my kids. And I. You know, it's. Yeah, because when you. When you experience that when you're younger, you know, share that with your own kids and it's.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, that was a big moment for you to do that because, like, there's pride on that side of the relationship, too. Like, this is our house. I'm gonna take care of this. Even though there's a lot of pain associated with it. We don't need your help. And they get sort of cocoonish about it, you know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Well, good for you for doing this. It's so important to identify that stuff. Do you think it sounds like you've done a good job of remembering the guy your dad was before Parkinson's, and not, like you said it right at the outset, not associating him with Parkinson's, but getting back to who he was. Because that's. I struggle with that sometimes because it's been 30 years, and my dad is hilarious and so quick and all the things he is, and we start to lose some of that. Like the recency blocks out the past.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, no, totally. 100%. And memories are so weird and abstract, but I think if you. The memories of my father, they're not, like an intellectual thing. They're a DNA thing. Like, I see that some of the gifts I got from my father are. You know, I would rather. You know, I would rather lose with integrity than win with. And that was like, something that is just who my dad fundamentally was. You know, he was a guy that had integrity. He had a North Star. And I. You know, I will never forget. I have a million examples in the back of a catalog of my brain of him showing that. And it wasn't performative. He wasn't doing it to show his sons this is just who he was. And, you know, and a guy that doesn't, you know, that understood the value of living within your means and helping and giving back to a certain degree. And so some of those things that he imbued in me, those are my memories. You know, my memories are acted out in my life. And the parts of myself that I'm most proud of are real elements of my dad and his stamp and my mom certainly as well. And yeah, so I feel him with me in all of that stuff.

[Willie Geist]

And I see it in my kids too, which helps. It comes back to life again, like, oh, your sense of humor is like my dad's. You know what I mean? They're lucky to have their grandparents around so they see him.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But like, it's there but how? I mean, genuinely too. Like, even if life wasn't perfect and it wasn't perfect in my house at all, it was chaos a lot of times. But every, you know, every sort of maladaptive or adaptive survival mechanism we all have are results of that. Yes, that insipid burgoo of weird domestic Life in the 80s in our, you know, blue collar homes. And I, you know, I wouldn't trade it for the world, you know, I really wouldn't.

[Willie Geist]

Landed you right here.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I mean, it did it all roads led to here. And I think, Yeah, I think about, I think about that really often. I think it's why I wasn't swallowed alive by the, you know, the asshole of show business a long time ago is because I came into it with a kind of a sense that, like, this is not totally real and sort of in my hard drive is a constant sort of usurping my own belief in who and what I am. So there's no, you know, like I would say to somebody when they say something awful to me, I'm like, you can't hurt me. You can't say anything worse to me than I say to myself every single day. And some of that comes from growing up in a household like that. I think it's why I have a good head on my shoulders now.

[Willie Geist]

Before I let you go, can we just say a word about our mutual friend Michael J. Fox? We're both on the board of the foundation. We've both run the marathon for the foundation. We've done all those things, but, man, it's hard to overstate the impact he's had, obviously with the foundation. But just on a personal level of being able to point to him, talk about a North Star and say, that's how you do it. You keep going. You look for something better down the road for people who are coming after you. I just talk about, I get emotional thinking about him too, because he has, for both of us, I think, been somewhere to look when it feels overwhelming.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. And I think what he's done is a great cultural judo move. To redirect energy into something that made millions of people, not just in America, Canada, all over the world, feel less alone. Like when one of the most powerful people in show business is willing to really just reshape their entire existence in life, to create a resource that is inexhaustible, that is dynamic, that helps everybody, not just the people who have Parkinson's, but the people who live with the people who have Parkinson's, you know, and it's one of the things with this initiative as well. Michael's website at his foundation is a huge resource. But also moretoparkinson's.com, which is part of the initiative that I'm, you know, talking about with my mom, is another just wellspring of information and resources and help for families everywhere. You know, not just the people that are suffering from this disease, but the friends, the family, the caregivers, everyone. Yeah, but Michael's like a genuine trailblazer. And how many people get to say they're a trailblazer in several different industries? The second one, I think, is as important. You know, I define. I wouldn't even define. I'd be lazy to define Michael as a movie star or even a philanthropist. There's multitudes of things. And what he did, I think, has changed people's lives left, right, and center. And I think was incredibly brave. And he embraced the vulnerability that I think a lot of people would struggle with, especially someone in the public eye. You don't get to be as fallible in that space. And it's not encouraged to be human and say, I'm falling apart, not feeling right. And watching still, the Davis Guggenheim doc on Michael. See still, if you're gonna see one Doc Still, Michael J. Fox is still. Stories are so beautifully told. And, yeah, I love him. I just, like, really genuinely love him. He's a guy that, like, you know, we orbit each other every year or two. We get, you know, come a lot closer. And I have just some of the best experiences with him and his family.

[Willie Geist]

I think the example for me is you don't have to retreat if you get Parkinson's disease. It's not retreat and go and it's over. It's, no, no, go, go, go, go.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Figure out how we're gonna fix this.

[Willie Geist]

What can we do?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Be vulnerable. But I think think if I use him as a kind of, you know, as a springboard for all kinds of things, not just dealing with something that is painful or difficult or an adversity or blah, blah. My work for my parenting, it's a great, it's just a great lesson that you learn over and over again. Like, don't, you know, don't just sit back and, like, let something overwhelm you, like, move back. Also, the fact that he created the Michael J. Fox foundation, which is literally, like he always says, designed to go out of business, that he will have done his job if that business is dead.

[Willie Geist]

Yes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is, I think, really, really beautiful. And the funny thing happened on the way to Parkinson's gala or event every year is a pretty great testament to what he's built.

[Willie Geist]

It is. And he's still up there every year on stage jamming guitar, doing his thing. Dude, thanks so much for your time today. Always, always a pleasure. Great to see you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.

[Willie Geist]

It's amazing. My big thanks again to Ryan Reynolds for a great conversation about movies, about his career, and most importantly, to both of us, our dads. If you're one of the few people who has not yet seen Deadpool and Wolverine, you can check it out in theaters now. My thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you want to hear more of these conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday Today every weekend on NBC, where you can actually see these conversations with your eyes full technicolor. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday sit down pod.

[Commercial Announcer]

Before the trophy and bragging rights are rightfully yours. Before your sleeper turns. In a season no one saw coming, before stats and projections turn into points on the board and your lineup falls perfectly into place, you flip the lid on a can of on nicotine pouches. And as you make your first pick, you know this is the season where fantasy's going to surpass reality. It's on products for tobacco consumers 21 years of age or older. Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.