The youngest of four brothers, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 23, 1976, to a food wholesaler father Jim and his saleswoman wife Tammy.
Although he went on to prove himself on the big screen as a teen his acting potential was far from obvious, as he failed his high school drama class. That didn't stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming an actor, however, and he landed his first break - a role in Florida-taped teen soap opera Fifteen - while still at school.
Back in Vancouver, he followed up on his small screen debut with the feature film Ordinary Magic in 1993. After graduating from school the following year he enrolled at Kwantlen University in Richmond, British Columbia, but left before finishing his degree in order to focus on his acting career. While he went on to get small roles in TV movies such as the 1994 flick Serving In Silence and 1996's In Cold Blood, critical acclaim was elusive. Just as he started to get discouraged by the poor movie reviews, however, his luck turned.
Relocating to Hollywood proved a successful decision for Ryan who quickly landed a comic role in the TV series Two Guys, A Girl And A Pizza Place. The part got him noticed and led to a starring role in the 2002 romantic comedy Van Wilder. That year proved an especially significant one in Ryan's life as he also met and fell in love with fellow Canadian and Nickelodeon veteran, chanteuse Alanis Morissette, with whom he shared a love for Ducati motorcycles. While his private life was making headlines, so was his acting career after he was cast in the 2003 Michael Douglas vehicle The In-Laws. The following year was a busy one for the fledgling star, who became engaged to Alanis and joined Jessica Biel and Wesley Snipes in the action film Blade: Trinity.
Determined to avoid being typecast he made sure to keep his repertoire varied. After signing up for comedies, dramas, and action flicks he went on to appear in the remake of thriller The Amityville Horror in 2005, returning to comedy later in the year with one of the roles he's best known for in Just Friends. Twelve months on and he further upped his profile by sharing the screen with Ben Affleck in Smokin' Aces, in which he portrayed an FBI agent. While his career continued to thrive the actor's relationship with Alanis was in trouble. On February 2007 the pair agreed to go their own ways after four years together.
Ryan would then go on to marry fellow star Scarlett Johannson in 2008 after dating for a year. However, the Hollywood power couple wasn't to last and just two years later they announced their separation. But, Ryan would then go on to find love with The Green Lantern co-star and Gossip Girl lead actress Blake Lively. The pair wed in 2012 and have welcomed four children: James, eight, Inez, six, three-year-old Betty, and their youngest who was born in 2023.
