Ryan Reynolds Heaps Praise On Spirited Co-Star Will Ferrell
Actor Ryan Reynolds is officially slated to star in perhaps one of the most hype team-ups. A few months ago, the actor dropped a superhero bombshell with the announcement of Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine for "Deadpool 3." It's a dream scenario for many comic book cinema fans who thought we'd seen the last of Jackman as the popular Canadian mutant X-Man. With a planned 2024 date, "Deadpool 3" is still a while away. However, this year, Reynolds performed in another dream team-up, at least on the comedy side.
On November 11, 2022, Apple TV+ premiered "Spirited," a holiday-themed film that stars Reynolds and Will Ferrell. The movie is a modern Scrooge twist on the classic "A Christmas Carol." Reynolds stars as a misanthropic businessman visited by a Christmas Spirit, played by Ferrell.
The movie goes all in on the festive vibes as it's musical full of high-energy dancing and singing. In fact, the production was such a physical challenge for Deadpool himself that "Spirited" may have kept Ryan Reynolds him too fit. The film was the first time Reynolds and Ferrell starred together on the big screen. And according to Reynolds, acting with Ferrell was absolutely a positive experience, as he had nothing but positive things to say about his co-star.
The actor compared Will Ferrell to Tom Hanks
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter about his thoughts on "Spirited" co-star Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds had nothing but high praise to offer. Already a big fan of his comedic performances throughout the years, Reynolds said he considered working with Ferrell as a dream collaboration for the actor. But he was even more impressed by Ferrell's heart. "You'd be hard-pressed to find any performer who's contributed as much to the modern comedic lexicon as Will," Reynolds said to THR. "But what I love most about this man is his humanity. There's a decency within him that's akin to a [Jimmy] Stewart or a [Tom] Hanks. I love him."
Reynolds' comments about Ferrell are enough to warm up anyone's heart, in case "Spirited" doesn't do the trick. Considering their collective prolific career, especially in the comedy realm, it's honestly surprising that "Spirited" is the first time we've seen the two in a film together. Here's hoping it's not the last, as their time on "Spirited" led to some fun and mischievous moments outside of production.
On September 13, 2021, fans got a preview of their duet skills through Reynolds' Instagram. Also, last year, the two played a game of late-night TV switcheroo. Reynolds was initially supposed to appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" while Ferrell was supposed to appear on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." However, the two swapped, leading to some funny exchanges, such as Kimmel asking questions meant for Reynolds instead to Ferrell.