Ryan Reynolds was allegedly difficult on the set of one of his earlier films, according to his one-time co-star Matthew Lawrence.
On his “Brotherly Love Podcast,” Lawrence shared his recollection of working with Reynolds on the film, “Boltneck,” released in 2000.
“The production team was having a really hard time with Ryan,” Lawrence said, emphasizing that “this was young Ryan.”
Lawrence noted he had somewhat more experience on sets than Reynolds, having been a child actor, and Reynolds wasn’t “dialed in.”
Ryan Reynolds allegedly gave the production team on a film early in his career “a really hard time,” according to his co-star, Matthew Lawrence. (Getty Images)
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“He’d walk out — just kind of wanted to do his thing, and the producers would get really upset because they said, they even told him, ‘Ryan, this is a bad Jim Carrey impersonation. This is not what we hired you to do. You can’t impersonate somebody. You gotta do your own thing.'”
According to Lawrence, Reynolds “got upset” at the critiques and told them, “I’m doing my thing.”
“The production team was having a really hard time with Ryan…this was young Ryan.”
“Boltneck” starred Lawrence as a nerdy teenager named Frank Stein, who resurrects his classmate, played by Reynolds, after he’s bullied and accidentally killed.
Lawerence said the producers intended the film to have a darker tone, closer to a film like “Donnie Darko,” but Reynolds tried to inject humor into the performance.
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Per Lawrence’s recollection, Reynolds tried to inject humor into his performance that the producers didn’t necessarily want. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
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“I’m not even mad at Ryan. He stayed true to who he is authentically, because honestly, he was trying [to] ‘Deadpool’ it. That’s what he was trying to do to the script on set,” the “Mrs. Doubtfire” star said.
Lawrence also shared he had been “privy to a meeting between the director” and Reynolds about the performance.
“This crew, I think, had just been nominated for an Oscar, so they were kind of a big deal at that moment. Talk about frustrations on set with actors,” he said.
The producers of “Boltneck,” Paul Colichman and Mark R. Harris, had recently worked on the film “Gods and Monsters,” starring Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser. It earned three Oscar nominations and took home a win for best adapted screenplay for writer Bill Condon.
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Lawrence did praise Reynolds, saying the actor’s attempts to add a “Deadpool” sense of humor to the movie were “who he is authentically.” (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
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“They blamed that movie not working on him because they said there was this whole conflict,” Lawrence claimed.
The 45-year-old also said that the crew was ready to write off Reynolds’ alleged behavior, saying, “We had so much hope for this guy. He’s going nowhere,” which he laughed at during the podcast given the “Deadpool & Wolverine” star’s current success.
Digital reached out to Lawrence, Reynolds and producers Paul Colichman and Mark R. Harris for comment.
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Lawrence said the crew was ready to write Reynolds off, recalling they felt like “he’s going nowhere,” laughing at the memory on the podcast given Reynolds’ current success. (Raymond Hall)
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Lawrence concluded that was “his experience” with Reynolds and noted that “he obviously matured as a human being.”
The episode of the “Brotherly Love” podcast was dedicated to recapping the drama between Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively, and her “It Ends with Us” co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.