Ryan Reynolds Defends Being Included in Awards Conversation for Deadpool Acting: ‘Comedy Is Also Very Difficult’

Ryan Reynolds is sticking up for the art of comedy acting.

The Deadpool & Wolverine star was revealed to be one of the participants chosen for Variety‘s “Actors on Actors” series, which pairs performers to talk about their buzzy performances during awards season.

Reynolds, 48, was partnered with Andrew Garfield, who starred in the romantic drama We Live in Time opposite Florence Pugh.

After one person on X ridiculed the idea of Reynolds talking about playing the foul-mouthed Marvel character with Garfield discussing the emotional cancer-related themes of his project, Reynolds replied, defending comedy acting as equally challenging.

“Andrew’s a genius. He and Florence are magic together in WE LIVE IN TIME. They’re heartbreaking and charming and spend the entire film in a high-wire act of humanity and constraint,” he began in his post on X. “And yes I am Deadpool BUT I will take a second and speak up in defense of comedy.”

“Dramatic work is difficult. And we’re also meant to SEE it’s difficult which is one of the reasons it feels visceral and effective,” continued Reynolds. “Comedy is also very difficult. But has an added dimension in that it’s meant to look and feel effortless. You intentionally hide the stitching and unstitching.”

Reynolds, who starred opposite pal Hugh Jackman in this year’s blockbuster superhero sequel, said “both disciplines are beautiful” and “both work beautifully together.”

“Comedy and drama subsist on tension. Both thrive when subverting expectation,” he wrote. “Both thrive backstopped by real emotion. And both are deeply subjective.”

Disney submitted Deadpool & Wolverine for consideration in various categories this award season, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Reynolds, Best Supporting Actor for Jackman and Best Adapted Screenplay (Reynolds co-wrote).

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The rest of the “Actors on Actors” lineup is: Ariana Grande and Paul Mescal; Selena Gomez and Saoirse Ronan; Angelina Jolie and Cynthia Erivo; Zendaya and Nicole Kidman; Drew Starkey and Harris Dickinson; Kate Winslet and Zoë Saldaña; Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor; Pamela Anderson and Mikey Madison; Colman Domingo and Kieran Culkin; Demi Moore and Amy Adams; and Adrien Brody and Tilda Swinton.

Sebastian Stan, who has received acclaim for two dramatic roles this year in A Different Man and The Apprentice, previously revealed that he was asked to do “Actors on Actors” but couldn’t since no colleagues wanted to talk about his controversial Donald Trump film.

Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh said in a statement: “We invited him to participate in ‘Actors on Actors,’ the biggest franchise of awards season, but other actors didn’t want to pair with him because they didn’t want to talk about Donald Trump.”