Making 'Friends' with Ryan Reynolds
The Phoenix
By Dan Melnick
Posted: 11/9/05

The Phoenix had a chance to fly out to L.A. and talk to actor Ryan Reynolds about his new movie, "Just Friends" which will be released on Nov. 23. Reynolds plays the once-geeky Chris Brader who is in love with his best friend from high school. Unfortunately for him, she thinks of him as a brother. Ten years later and about 100 pounds lighter, Chris winds up going back home for the holidays, only to run into the girl of his dreams once more.

Phoenix: How much did you get to improvise on this? A lot of it seemed like improv. 

Reynolds: I think in any comedy you gotta do that, you gotta be able to do that. And that's something we did a lot [in] the movie. And we'd talk about it, too. We'd be like, "How do we top this?" or, "Let's figure out a way to make this funnier or more awkward or weird." With Roger, [the director], you'd do ten versions of the same scene. He'd go, "Do this one pissed off, just totally pissed off. Now do this one like you've got a secret. Like you've got ... a squirrel somewhere inside of your body." It would just be so random; it was a blast to be able to do that. 

Phoenix: It must be fun. Did you go to school for drama? 

Reynolds: No, I never took a class. I took Groundlings and stuff like that, but I never did any actual formal thespian training. 

Phoenix: How was filming in Canada during the winter? 

Reynolds: Oh, you mean the Arctic Circle? [Laughs] 

Phoenix: [Laughs] Yeah. 

Reynolds: I took a dogsled to set every day. It was amazing, I'd pee slush [laughs]. That was something else. My brother is an Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer. He trained there for six months, so yeah. It was very, very cold. Not the warmest place on earth. There is an actual temperature where the camera won't operate anymore. It just quits ... like people. 

Phoenix: Typically you're the cool "Van Wilder" guy, but this is in the opposite direction. Was that at all scary for you? 

Reynolds: In the beginning it was, "Let's just keep chopping this character down as much as we can." This veneer that this guy has created for himself over 10 years about one wound - it would just be fun to see him get chopped down over and over and over again when he goes back home. It was a blast to find those moments to really cut him down. 

Phoenix: There were some scenes in the movie where you and your brother were beating the living crap out of each other. Was there any real bruising or scrapes? 

Reynolds: Oh, he really hit me every time. My face is pretty used to it because I have three older brothers. That was actually entirely inspired by us, that is, my brother Terry and I. That's what we did. At the dinner table or wherever, my dad would be right [next to me] and Terry would go, "Look, mom's on fire." My dad would look and then - SLAP - and if my dad caught me crying or anything or selling out my brother, I'm dead later. So I was actually Mike (the younger brother in the movie) and my brother was more me. 

Phoenix: How was the fat suit? Was it difficult to wear or operate? 

Reynolds: Yeah, the thing was made out of lava. It was so hot I couldn't believe it. It was minus 40 outside and I'd go out there and sit and just steam. I didn't want to rehearse anything in it. It reminded me of every wound I had in high school. When you're that age, you're not defended yet. You say and do things, where you haven't experienced a lot of wounding yet. It was really fun to be that again because I noticed that with myself from high school, I mean every wound from high school still seems like it happened yesterday. I'd love to run into [an old bully] on the streets of Vancouver, [where I grew up,] and give him a piece of my mind. I had a few bullies and I just remembered that feeling and that pain at that age. You feel safe, but you're not and you find out that you're not and that's just a horrible moment. So it was great to just be that character again in the fat suit and be safe. 

Phoenix: So this is like therapy for you in a way. 

Reynolds: It totally was therapy [laughs]. Even just talking about it is great. 

Phoenix: Kind of speaking of that, going from a geek to a cool guy, when I saw "Blade Trinity," and in that first scene you don't have your shirt on and you're just ripped, I thought to myself, if I could have any man's body that would be it. How did you do that? 

Reynolds: [laughs] It was seven months of ... well, it was a blue unitard and George Lucas. No, it was just seven months of as many sit-ups as you could ever do and eating drywall, or whatever. It was awful and it was not worth it. 

Phoenix: There's a weird tension between us now, isn't there? 

Reynolds: A little awkward now. 

Phoenix: Your movie is about bridging the gap between the dating zone and being caught in the "friend zone." Have you ever been in the "friend zone?" 

Reynolds: That's a tough maze to navigate through. It's something that happens to everybody. I don't think you can get out of it. In high school there were two girls, well Yale, I was absolutely in love with this girl Yale. If I saw her on the street today, I'd still only get a high-five.