You weren’t the only one who thought Deadpool was robbed of an Oscar nomination; Jack Gyllenhaal, star of Nocturnal Animals, believes Ryan Reynolds was deserving of an Oscar nod for his “extraordinary work” on the R-rated success story.
Following a brief appearance as the Merc With a Mouth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds started to formulate early plans for a Deadpool solo movie worthy of the irreverent source material – and he’s remained a staunch evangelist for the character ever since. Battling studio red tape and other internal setbacks, it wasn’t until a reel of test footage leaked online that the Powers That Be over at 20th Century Fox began to stand up and take notice of the foul-mouthed vigilante, eventually leading to the Tim Miller-directed actioner we know and love.
This journey, coupled with an almost effortless performance as the Merc With a Mouth, left Gyllenhaal suitably impressed, who heaped praise on his Life co-star while chatting to Entertainment Weekly.
“Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool. We talk about brilliant performances all the time, you know, the actors who tear themselves apart for their roles, which I’m a believer in. But then I look at Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool and I say, ‘No one can do that but him.’ That is truly, purely him. As an artist he struggled for several years to figure that out and it’s all there on the screen. And it’s brilliant.
“Sure it’s a comic book movie and it’s made a lot of money — but that doesn’t subtract from Ryan’s extraordinary work. Because it’s him. I mean, let’s ask ourselves: What else do we want from people who create? Something that is truly them.”
Alas, Deadpool‘s name isn’t on the guest list for the 89th Academy Awards, but that hasn’t quelled Reynolds’ enthusiasm to craft the Merc With a Mouth’s next adventure. Tim Miller may have jumped ship to help resurrect the Terminator franchise, but with John Wick co-director David Leitch ready to call the shots on Deadpool 2, the Powers That Be at Fox will begin to whip the sequel into shape. Elsewhere, the film’s screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have high hopes for a “sillier, edgier” X-Force movie.