Ryan Reynolds Makes Public Call for Awards to Finally Give Stunt Actors the Recognition They Deserve

This year, many people have shown their love for the stuntmen of the entertainment industry. For years, actors and directors have made it clear that stuntmen were the unsung heroes of cinema who deserved their own category at the Oscars, but the issue has come to the fore again this year with the film The scapegoat.

Ahead of the release of the stunt film, at the Academy Awards ceremony in March, the film’s stars, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, took the stage to present a video tribute to the stunt community.

The video montage celebrated more than 100 years of Hollywood stunts, from the classic feats of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton to modern scenes from films such as John Wick, Mission: Impossible, Matrix, and more.

Now, Deadpool and Wolverine star My name is Ryan Reynolds. He also made a public plea for stunt performers in the industry. In a new social media post, Reynolds honored the performers who stood in for actors to pull off the complex action sequences and hoped their work would be more widely recognized.

Reynolds shared on X: “Stunt work doesn’t have a category at the Oscars and I hope that will change one day. So many films have broken through this year. Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chaplin were stuntmen and directors.

“Telling stories with the whole body. This [Deadpool & Wolverine] the stunt team did their best. Many of them are friends I’ve worked with for years and I’ll spend the rest of my days scribbling their names on my Heidi Stationary, dotting all the “i’s” with little hearts.”

Reynolds gave a shout-out to Alex Kyshkovych, who he says he’s worked with since the first Dead Pool film, adding: “Not only does he double for me, he’s the fight coordinator. I’d take a bat to the face for Alex. Or rather, I’d ask Alex to take a bat to the face for Alex.

“Second Unit Director/Supervising Stunt Coordinator George Cottle is a BIG GOOD. You saw his genius in Spider-Man NWH along with a ton of other gems. His skill is world class and made the entire film better. I’d let Alex take a rusty fork in the eye for George.”

The actor also said it was “amazing” to see how much Hugh Jackman does many of the stunts himself, but also noted that Daniel Stevens “steps in for the really dangerous scenes.

He’s been “Wolverining” for a long time. As we know, Wolverining is HARD. I would ask Alex to eat the crab salad I left on the dashboard for three days straight for Dan.”

“A big thank you to Andy Lister for bringing some crazy new Wolvie gear to the Deadpool Corps fight,” he said, before concluding with, “If you want @TheAcademy to recognize the amazing work of stunt teams ALL OVER THE INDUSTRY, let him know!”

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