Ryan Reynolds pens love letter to Toronto ahead of 'Deadpool & Wolverine' release
Ryan Reynolds may be from Vancouver, but the “Deadpool & Wolverine” star is making no secret of his love for Toronto.
“Goddamn I miss being in Toronto. What a spot,” the movie star professed in an Instagram post Wednesday following a press stop in the city to mark the summer blockbuster’s Canadian premiere.
Reynolds, alongside Australian co-star Hugh Jackman and Montreal director Shawn Levy, have been promoting the latest film in the Deadpool franchise on a world-wide tour, which the 47-year-old actor admitted has been exhausting.
“The relentless #DeadpoolAndWolverine global tour isn’t always easy. No complaints!!! But sometimes you show up and it feels like your brain has been lobotomized by a claw hammer… you’re desperately searching for a gas pedal when all you can find are brakes and a reverse gear. I’m grateful to Toronto for putting the paddles to my chest this morning,” Reynolds wrote.
“You understand you have a job to do. The journalists your meeting have a job to do. It’s a simple but important transaction and I wanna deliver. But I didn’t step up for Toronto. Today, Toronto stepped up for me,” he continued, shouting out ETalk’s Tyrone Edwards, who hosted a special with the film’s stars that aired Wednesday evening. Reynolds also showed love to ETalk’s Lainey Lui and the Social’s Jessica Allen.
On Tuesday, during an exclusive interview with ETalk, Jackman recalled his own love affair with Toronto, reflecting on the time he arrived in the city to audition for the role of Wolverine in the 2000 box-office smash “X-Men.”
"I'm going to tell you a true story. We came in this morning. And I was driving here down that freeway. What is that freeway? (Someone in the audience shouts, 'Gardiner') On the left, they've got flowers with words. I was looking at it, and I just remembered 1999 October coming here to audition in Toronto for the character of Wolverine, 25 years ago," Jackman said.
Beyond the stars’ love for Toronto, Reynolds, who is reprising his role as the foul-mouthed superhero for the third time in the latest installment of the franchise, explained “Deadpool & Wolverine” has two other lesser-known Canadian connections.
"We also have two Canadian-born superheroes. That's kind of a wild thing, you know," he said. According to Marvel, Wolverine is from Alberta, while Deadpool is from an "unrevealed location" in Canada.
During the interview, Reynolds was also asked about his friendship with Jackman, describing their relationship as "two old ladies watching the sunset."
"The key thing with any friendship or partnership, this could be a friend or a spouse or anything, is rooting for the other person," the actor said.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” hits theatres Friday.
ETalk, The Social, CP24 and CTV are divisions of Bell Media
With files from Bryann Aguilar
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.