In hindsight, Ryan Reynolds should’ve known better than to ask the GreatestShowman for performance tips.
The deadpool actor revealed that he tapped his longtime “nemesis” HughJackman — who is currently marching down Broadway into The Music Man — forguidance on how to sing and dance for Spirited , his new Christmas musicalwith Will Ferrell. But the results didn’t exactly fill Reynolds up withholiday cheer.
“It comes so naturally to Hugh that, in a weird way, his helping was nothelping,” Reynolds said in an interview with The Big Issue. “He was like,’Just make sure you’re listening to those count-offs and those beats’. And Iwas like, ‘I don’t hear the beats, man. Help me out with something realhere!'”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 28: Hugh Jackman (L) and Ryan Reynolds attendThe Adam Project World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on February 28, 2022 inNew York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix)
Monica Schipper/Getty for Netflix Hugh Jackman’s attempts to reach RyanReynolds how to dance for his holiday film ‘Spirited’ totally backfired.
The best lesson Jackman taught him didn’t actually take place on the dancefloor, but rather over a cup of coffee. “He reminded me of something that isso vital with almost anything that you’re doing in the arts,” Reynoldsrecalled. “He said, ‘Just remember to enjoy it, because if you’re enjoying it,we’ll enjoy it.'”
He continued, “That was something that I constantly reminded myself. Even whenI felt so out of my depth, which was almost every day, I kept reminding myselfthat this is an opportunity of a lifetime. And it actually extended wellbeyond this project into other aspects of my life. So that was pretty goodadvice.”
Reynolds is no stranger to learning choreography — just check out any of hisgleefully gruesome deadpool fight scenes — but the actor maintains thatdance routines were an entirely different kind of evil.
“Training for a superhero movie is something I’ve been doing since I was 20,and I’m 46 now,” he said. “Doing a fight sequence is in my bones. I memorizethem very fast. I can make a mistake and use that mistake to my advantage inthe moment. Contrary dancing, if I make one mistake, I completely fall apart.”
Story continues
In a way, the Apple TV+ movie was just what Reynolds needed to push himself> out of his comfort zone.
“The great gift about getting older is you become more and more comfortablewith sucking at something,” he said. “The more comfortable I am at sucking atsomething, the better I become at that thing. If I’m looking through the lensof, this has to have perfection right off the bat, it becomes a law ofdiminishing returns. When you allow yourself to be bad at something, it reallygives yourself permission to be good at it as well.”
Reynolds added, “[In Spirited ], I wasn’t trying to be the best singer onthe planet. I was trying to be the best singer I could possibly be. And that’sit. And that’s all I can do. I can’t really control much else.”
Based on Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale A Christmas Carol the moviefollows Reynolds’ character Clint Briggs, an “unredeemable” curmudgeon whoruns a controversial social media company, as he’s visited by the Ghost ofChristmas Present (Ferrell) and forced to sing and dance his way through anunforgettably jolly journey.
Spirited is streaming now on Apple TV+. Meanwhile, Reynolds and Jackman willreunite on screen in the upcoming third deadpool installment, which is setto hit theaters Nov. 8, 2024.
Sign up for ** Entertainment Weekly ‘s free daily newsletter ** toget breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews withyour favorite stars, and more.