Actor Ryan Reynolds is calling 2009 the "most unbelievable year" of his life. In addition to running a marathon and marrying superstar actress Scarlett Johansson, Reynolds is preparing to make movie history by starring as two iconic characters from competing comic book companies: DC Comics' Hal Jordan/Green Lantern and Marvel Comics' Wade Wilson/Deadpool.
In a recent interview with MTV, Reynolds said that landing both roles was especially gratifying because he had pursued them passionately.
It's incredibly validating and gratifying when you can see that you can manifest something that you desperately want or a goal that you have. This is a difficult industry to get anything made, let alone a passion project, so when you see people understand what your vision is and come aligned with that common goal, it's pretty cool. I'm including all the creative types that are actually involved with Deadpool and Green Lantern, because those guys want to make an authentic movie, and that's something a few years ago studios disregarded.
Reynolds said that one of the "definitive" moments for him was seeing the Green Lantern costume for the first time because he could tell that the film would be "happening in the right way." In contrast, while Reynolds' portrayal of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was well-received by fans, the character itself was criticized by many in the fan community for straying too far from its comic book origins.
It's always difficult to fully embrace something that isn't perfect, in terms of staying true to the source material. So it was a little bit frustrating. I really wanted to play Wade, and I really wanted to play Deadpool, and it would kill me to see someone else play them. I had a kind of ham-fisted attitude that it had to be perfect, but it doesn't. The movie's called Wolverine, it's not called Deadpool or Wade. I thought it was a nice little wink and tip of the hat to things to come. Finding the tone of that character alone is such a difficult prospect. I've been in so many meetings lately about Deadpool and meeting all these writers. Everyone is always looking for that one line, "What is that character?" and for me it's kind of like, "There's a guy, and he's in a highly militarized comedic fame spiral." That's not an easy thing to write — an entire screenplay, let alone a franchise. I had a blast playing Wade. Every line I had in that was stuff I thought he would say. It wasn't something that a writer said to me. It was fun to really create that character, including everything he spits out of his awful mouth.
Reynolds admits that he knew of the character of Green Lantern his "whole life," but wasn't a fan until he had a meeting with director Martin Campbell about the film.
I fell in love with [Green Lantern] when I met with Martin Campbell. When I sat down with him, I really got what it is that this guy is all about. When you have a guy like Martin Campbell, part of his charm is that he has balls of titanium, and the other part is that he's slightly crazy, and you have to be to take on something with the scope of Green Lantern. He's less of the director and more of a general. He just really knows strategies, he knows the intricacies, and his attention to detail! It's infectious. I sat down with him, and I could not even believe what he was saying. When I went to the meeting, I was entirely cynical. I thought, 'What the hell, I'll see what they have to say,' and I left the room with a completely different perspective.