Ryan Reynolds has been a Hollywood A-lister for nearly two decades now, with a multi-million dollar superhero franchise, luxury endorsement deals, and even a soccer team to his name. But the Canadian comic actor started out with small bit parts and worked his way up from there. Here's everything we know about Ryan Reynolds' career and net worth.
His first gig was on Nickelodeon
Reynolds' first on-screen acting role came in 1991, when he appeared in the teen soap Hillside, released in the United States as Fifteen on Nickelodeon. In a 2016 interview with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan, Reynolds recalled his $150-per-day paycheque.
"I remember we were paid $150 per episode. I still had a paper route. I would do my TV show, then I’d go home and do my paper route." he said. "For me, I thought I was, like, a gajillionaire. For $150 a day, it was like a dream come true."
That dream continued to come true, and Reynolds went on to enjoy a TV career in the Nineties: he played Harvey in the 1996 TV movie that would launch the show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and had a guest spot on The X-Files that same year. From 1998 to 2001, Reynolds was one of the series leads in sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place (later rebranded and better remembered as Two Guys and a Girl).
After that, movies came calling. Reynold's breakout role came in the 2002 comedy Van Wilder, and he rapidly became popular due to his performances in Blade Trinity, The Amityville Horror, and the romantic comedies Just Friends and Definitely, Maybe. Since then he has starred in a number of high-grossing comedies and action movies, as well as lending his voice to Detective Pikachu and The Croods.
The Deadpool movies have made him $40 million
However, he is perhaps most associated with the role of Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, in the X-Men movie universe. He has played that character in three movies, beginning in the maligned prequel X-Men: Origins - Wolverine, then 2016's Deadpool and 2018's Deadpool 2.Reynolds was paid a low-seven-figure sum for Deadpool plus a cut of the box office, and raked in a higher amount for the sequel, allegedly earning $40 million for the franchise to date. And that's before we count the as-yet-unreleased Deadpool 3.
He also has several lucrative business ventures.
Reynolds held a 10 percent ownership stake in Aviation Gin, and his involvement with the brand featured heavily in several of its tongue-in-cheek ad campaigns, until he sold his share of the company to Diageo in 2020 for a staggering $610 million, as reported by Vanity Fair. In 2023, Mint Mobile—of which Reynolds reportedly owned 25 percent—sold to T-Mobile for $1.35 billion, equating to an estimated $300 million payday for the actor.
He has appeared in ad campaigns for colognes by both Armani and Hugo Boss, and has endorsement deals with Samsung and Hyundai. Most recently, Reynolds is the co-owner of the British soccer team Wrexham AFC with pal Rob McElhenney. The pair's experience of buying the team is documented in the FX series Welcome to Wrexham.
Ryan Reynolds' total career earnings come to $350 million
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Reynolds' total assets amount to $350 million. His wife, Blake Lively, meanwhile, is estimated to be worth $30 million.
