Ryan Reynolds has captivated audiences for over two decades with his sharp comedic wit and undeniable charisma.

But beneath the jokes and charm lies a gripping emotional depth that brings his characters to life.

Reynolds has demonstrated from early in his career that he can make audiences laugh. His breakout role as Berg in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder showed his talent for delivering clever one-liners and lovable awkwardness. In the crude college comedy, Reynolds took a relatively small part and stole scenes with his impeccable comedic timing.

As his career progressed, Reynolds landed more leading roles that highlighted his talent for balancing humor and heart. In romantic comedies like The Proposal and Definitely, Maybe, he tempered laugh-out-loud moments with emotional intimacy. His crackling on-screen chemistry with Sandra Bullock and unwavering commitment to the truth of his character’s feelings anchored the comedy while revealing new depths to Reynolds’s talents.

Vulnerability – Letting the Cracks Show

While many leading men rely on a veneer of slick charm, Reynolds allows the cracks to show. He portrays characters not afraid to lay bare their damage, dreams, and desires. This emotional transparency makes the jokes land harder while allowing the audience to deeply connect.

In the indie film Buried, Reynolds carries the entire 95-minute film on his shoulders. His character Paul Conroy wakes up buried alive in a wooden box with only a cell phone and lighter. Each moment allows Reynolds to expose Conroy’s escalating panic, regrets, and desperate hope as he tries to survive and connect with the outside world one last time. Reynolds draws power from stillness and subtle shifts in expression, pulling the audience into Conroy’s emotional free-fall.

The Adam Project pairs Reynolds with a younger version of himself, confronting past trauma and loss to save the future. Reynolds navigates the full spectrum from grief to goofy nostalgia alongside his 13-year-old self. The film showcases Reynolds’s emotional courage on screen as few actors allow themselves to explore such naked vulnerability.

By allowing the cracks and flaws to show through the charm, Reynolds creates characters who feel real. The audience laughs louder because they recognize the truth of the pain underneath the joke. They connect more deeply to moments of tenderness and triumph because they have walked alongside the character in their brokenness.

Persistence – Picking Himself Up

Equally important to Reynolds’s vulnerability is his resilience. The determination and persistence his characters demonstrate inspire as much hope and engagement as the emotional transparency.

In Deadpool and Free Guy, Reynolds inhabits characters who literally will not stay down. Battered by bullets or bats, these characters heal rapidly to rise up again. Their physical durability mirrors their emotional resilience to keep fighting for their goals and beliefs, cracking jokes even in dire circumstances.

For example, in The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Reynolds plays a skilled executive protection agent stripped of his AAA rating and on the brink of bankruptcy. Chased by assassins and wanted by Interpol, he doesn’t hesitate to take the job guarding a notorious hitman traveling to testify at The Hague. Reynolds threads the needle between anxiety-fueled motormouth ramblings and moments of stillness that hint at his capabilities. In possibly the worst 24 hours of his life, Reynolds’s character Michael Bryce shows up again and again–to wisecrack, fight, or simply endure.

The unique blend of vulnerability and resilience Ryan Reynolds brings to his roles creates characters who feel profoundly human. The audience laughs with them in moments of levity, connects to their authentic struggles, and wants to stand up again with them when they face defeat. This captivating interplay has defined Reynolds’s career and earned him a special place in film history.