His beginnings on teen drama affair Hillside now far behind him, Reynolds is one of the highest-paid actors in the industry. Just how much does the Canadian actor earn?
Reynolds has become one of the most highly sought after actors in the industry, getting paid upwards of $20 million for his roles. The financial value of the actor increased dramatically after the success of 2016’s Deadpool.
Reynolds had a bumpy few years prior to his outing as fan-favorite Deadpool in the self-titled movie. Now, however, the star is a hot commodity, reportedly earning a staggering $27 million upfront for his new role in “6 Underground”.
Less Than Heroic Beginning
The rollercoaster of Reynolds’ success and popularity had a few significant moments that came to determine his future prospects. Green Lantern was a particularly low point for him, one that Reynolds himself has often commented on sarcastically, even going so far as to recreate his own “Reynolds Cut” of the movie.
Green Lantern was a superhero movie featuring Reynolds as the hero Hal Jordan. The movie failed to meet the success that had been forecast for it, with many critics harshly judging the movie for being an overproduced special effects show.
Reynolds’ disdain for the movie was fairly thorough and public, from the script all the way down to the costumes. It’s understandable to imagine that the actor may have chosen to forego any future roles that stepped anywhere near the world of superhero fiction.
Spark of Interest
Reynolds’ defining performance as the beloved fan-favorite Deadpool still remained quite far off. Again, an unfavorable script was barring the way, plaguing Reynolds’ transformation into the anarchic and ever-entertaining comic-book character.
Reynolds revealed in an interview that the character of Deadpool always had his interest, being intrigued by the fact that the character himself commented that he looked like a “cross between Ryan Reynolds and a Shar-Pei”. Before getting his solo movie, however, he ended up being a feature in the already established X-Men movie universe.
Reynolds found himself in the Deadpool role co-starring alongside Hugh Jackman who played Wolverine, an already well-established mainstay of the superhero genre. Reynolds’ character development in the movie, unfortunately, took him far away from the comic-book roots, into a role that lacked the comedic charm and colorful character that Deadpool is known for.
Despite all of this, the short on-screen showcase of the more comic-like Deadpool that Reynolds portrayed successfully managed to capture the hearts of viewers. Apparently, it also captured the heart of Reynolds, the actor was infected with a desire to bring the character to life in a way he felt would do it justice.
Sadly for Deadpool, the script for a potential movie changed hands multiple times over the years, with the concept never quite managing to get off the ground. To make matters worse, Reynolds accepted a part in the Green Lantern movie mentioned prior.
The inability to lock down all of the moving parts, Green Lantern’s box-office performance, and other factors caused the Deadpool movie to suffer even more delays.
Bringing Deadpool to Life
Around 2014, Deadpool finally got its chance at taking center stage. After a multitude of different setbacks and some fortunate accidents with the leaking of a demo for the movie, Reynolds finally got to assume the role of Deadpool in his full glory.
Although it can be hard to find, every performer can have that one role that they are destined to play. For Reynolds, this role was that of the wise-cracking Deadpool – by all accounts, the Canadian actor was born to play the character.
The character meshed perfectly with Reynolds’ personality and thanks to the performance of himself and an exceptionally strong cast, the movie took the box-office by storm. An R-rated movie with a cut budget, almost predestined to fail, completely smashed all expectations at the box office and propelled the character as well as Reynolds into a different stratosphere.
Revitalized and Reinvigorated
The first Deadpool managed to make more than double its $60 million budget in the opening week, closely followed by the sequel which had a similarly successful opening week, grossing $125 million.
It’s been nothing but good things for Reynolds ever since he and Deadpool took the box offices by storm. In the shoes of a character that he was seemingly born to play, Reynolds’ stock skyrocketed to all new heights, where he now enjoys his place as one of the best-paid actors in the industry.