Ryan Reynolds reveals he stopped getting paid during the filming of Deadpool and took a smaller salary to pay for the screenwriters to be on set

Ryan Reynolds has shared details about his salary for the first Deadpool film, while promoting the upcoming third installment alongside co-star Hugh Jackman.

The 47-year-old Canadian actor has revealed that he stopped receiving a salary during filming and therefore accepted a lower salary to be able to pay the screenwriters on set.

Ryan explains, “I gave up the idea of ​​getting paid for the movie just to get it back on the screen. They didn’t want my co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on set, so I took what little salary I had left and paid them to be on set with me, so we could basically have a writers’ room.”

The Marvel star said that despite having to give up his salary, it was worth it to help out the creative team, who struggled to work on a tight budget.

He said, “I think one of the biggest enemies of creativity is too much time and money, and that movie had neither time nor money. It really promoted the focus on character over spectacle, which is a little bit harder to pull off in a comic book movie.

The 47-year-old Canadian actor has revealed that he stopped taking a salary during filming and accepted a lower salary to pay the screenwriters on set

“I was just so invested in every micro-detail of it, and I hadn’t felt that way in a long time. I remember wanting to feel that more — not just with Deadpool, but with everything.”

Deadpool was released in February 2016 and grossed nearly $783 million worldwide.

Ryan and Hugh, 55, star in the upcoming Marvel Studios film Deadpool & Wolverine and both discussed playing superheroes in a recent article in The New York Times.

“When Deadpool finally got the green light, I never thought it would be a success,” Reynolds admitted of the 2016 R-rated film during a video call with Jackman in late June.

In the third film in the Deadpool franchise, Reynolds reprises his role and Jackman joins his title character Wolverine.

Deadpool & Wolverine will be released in theaters on July 26.

The long-awaited sequel to the superhero film also stars Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Karan Soni, Leslie Uggams, Matthew Macfadyen and Jennifer Garner.

Reynolds also told the NYT that his nine-year-old daughter James has already seen the upcoming R-rated film with his mother Tammy Reynolds.

Ryan and Hugh, 55, star in the upcoming Marvel Studios film Deadpool & Wolverine and both discussed portraying superheroes in a recent article for The New York Times

“Well, I’m not saying other people should do this, but my nine-year-old daughter watched the movie with me and my mom, who’s in her late 70s, and it was just one of the best moments of this whole experience for me,” the A-list actor told the newspaper.

Reynolds said he was encouraged by the film’s multi-generational audience response.

“They were both laughing their lungs out, feeling the emotions that I would have most hoped others would feel,” he said.

Reynolds has four children with his wife Blake Lively (36): daughters James (9), Inez (7) and Betty (4). He also has a fourth child, who was born in February 2023.

He told the newspaper that he had no hesitation in showing his eldest child the R-rated film because he had seen many of them at that age and felt they had an influence that would serve him well later in life.

The pair are currently on a promotional tour for Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool and Wolverine are shown in a trailer for the upcoming Marvel Studios film

“When I was a kid and saw R-rated movies, it had a huge impact on me because I didn’t feel like people were holding back,” Reynolds said, “and it’s been a huge inspiration for a lot of the things I want to do now.”

In the interview, Reynolds also explained what a huge impact the character Deadpool has had on his career.

“I was an actor who was pretty well known,” Reynolds said. “I don’t know how you say that without sounding like a dick.

“But I was 37 when Deadpool had its pop culture phenomenon, and I’m very grateful for it because I knew exactly how to enjoy it.”