Ryan Reynolds: ‘Green Lantern’ Nearly Ended Career, Still Shortlisted For Sequel


Ryan Reynolds may be one of the best actors of 2017, but he certainly didn’t feel that way just a few years ago, according to Variety. In fact, the 40-year-old actor reveals that he felt he was “unhirable” after Green Lantern.

It’s been more than five years since the world saw Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds in the leading superhero status, but the actor still cannot forget the disastrous effect the film had on his career.

Speaking to actress Taraji P. Henson as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Ryan Reynolds opened up about a difficult period in his acting career. Even though Reynolds is one of the most successful actors of 2017 thanks to his hit role in Deadpool, the actor has had a rather mixed relationship with the superhero genre.

Green Lantern in 2011 showed disastrous critical and box office returns, and Ryan Reynolds reveals that he was even “unhirable” for quite some time after the flop. But the actor showed pure commitment to bringing Deadpool to screens and was awarded with high critical acclaim as a result.

Even though Green Lantern was Ryan Reynolds’ first attempt at a blockbuster after a series of mediocre comedies and supporting roles, it was rather risky for the actor to take up a leading role in a yet another superhero film in Deadpool.

But Ryan Reynolds couldn’t wish for a more successful year in 2016, as Deadpool grossed more than $782 million worldwide at the box office, and movie fans are enthusiastic to see Reynolds reprise the role of Deadpool in Deadpool 2.

Given how adamant Ryan Reynolds is that Green Lantern nearly destroyed his career, it seems unlikely that he would ever reprise his role. However, Slash Film reported that Warner Bros. has released a shortlist of six actors who could take up the role of Green Lantern, who is next expected to appear on the big screen either in Justice League: Part Two in 2019 or Green Lantern Corps in 2020.

And amazingly, Ryan Reynolds has made the list, along with Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Joel McHale, Armie Hammer, and Jake Gyllenhaal. It seems highly unlikely that Reynolds would even consider putting the infamous green mask back on, especially considering the subsequent success of Deadpool and the comments he has made about what he considers to be an embarrassing role in a disastrous movie.

Speaking to Henson as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Ryan Reynolds also revealed that he had a “terrible” audition with the acclaimed sibling filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Ryan Reynolds was presumably talking about the brothers’ dramedy Inside Llewyn Davis when he said he auditioned and “failed” for the Coen brothers.

“It was terrible. It was OK, it just wasn’t the right fit, unfortunately. Mostly because they’re very high-class.”

Ryan Reynolds, who is no stranger to self-deprecating humor, described how the audition went and said the Coen brothers were “just quietly shaking their heads” in the room.

“Like, ‘What are you doing here? Do you have a SAG card, or do you have the Canadian version?'”

But Henson was quick to share her own terrible auditioning story to make Ryan Reynolds feel a little better about himself. The Empire actress revealed she once auditioned for the lead role of Olivia Pope on the ABC series Scandal and said “thank God” Kerry Washington got that role, adding that it “was her job.”

But auditioning for the Coen brothers wasn’t actually Ryan Reynolds’ worst audition ever. When asked by Henson to share his worst audition, the Deadpool actor revealed that he thinks “pretty much most” of his auditions are terrible.

“I was never a great auditioner.”

However, Ryan Reynolds still pointed the finger at one particular project, where he had to sing. Reynolds said that while he’s a “nervous singer,” he’s also one of those people who think, “This is pretty good, right?” when they attempt singing in the shower.

But apparently, the producers of this one project didn’t think Ryan Reynolds was a talented singer.

“But once I get out into the real world, it’s just like my voice turns into a hammer that hits everybody in the face.”

In fact, that audition was so bad that Ryan Reynolds looks back and fears that the tape of the disastrous singing audition could surface on the internet at some point. The Deadpool actor admits that it would be “the death of me,” describing the audition as “pretty awful.”

[Featured Image by Charles Krupa/AP Images]

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