In an entertaining twist, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman teamed up to co-host “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday, promoting their latest film, “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The 47-year-old Canadian actor and the 55-year-old Australian star took turns playfully roasting each other, adding humor and charm to the ABC talk show while Kimmel, 56, is on his summer break.
Reynolds, at one point hosting solo, began interviewing his close friend Jackman. The conversation took a heartfelt turn when Reynolds brought up a significant personal moment for Jackman.
“I did want to discuss one thing. A few years ago, you lost your father. And you said that afterwards you had some really intense revelations and things that you discovered about yourself. One thing in particular, I’m just wondering if you would use this moment to share?” Reynolds asked.
Caught off guard, Jackman responded, “Okay. I didn’t know we were going there. It was a really difficult time. It was during COVID. So my father passed away in Australia, and I managed to get back there, it wasn’t easy. And I was there, I was there at the end and I’ll just never forget that moment and what he said to me.”
Just then, Reynolds’ cellphone rang, and he apologized, explaining it was his wife, Blake Lively, 36, calling.
“So sorry. One second. It’s Blake, it’s Blake,” Reynolds said, eliciting cheers from the Hollywood studio audience. He explained they had promised always to answer each other’s calls, no matter what.
“Hi, baby,” Blake said as Reynolds answered.
“Hi,” he replied.
“Is now an okay time?” Lively asked.
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“No, no, no, it’s fine, we’re at Kimmel. We’re just rehearsing, it’s rehearsal,” Reynolds said, prompting laughter from the audience.
“I love you so much. I’m just bored,” Lively admitted.
Reynolds reassured her it was fine to talk and mentioned Jimmy’s sidekick Guillermo was also there. He showed the audience his phone, and Lively waved to everyone.
“Alec is here. Alec is the stage manager. He’s British and looks really upset right now. So, I’m just going to get off the phone,” Reynolds said as he ended their call.
“Where were we?” Reynolds asked Jackman, who just shook his head silently as the audience chuckled.
“Okay, we actually do have an exclusive clip. Maybe we roll that right now?” Reynolds suggested, moving the segment along.
“I don’t know where I am. I don’t know anything,” Jackman said, laughing along with the audience.
Later, co-star Emma Corrin joined in, teasing Reynolds and Jackman about the advice they’ve given her.
“I actually can’t remember any,” Corrin said, causing more laughter. “Other than you guys getting really excited when I was about to shave my head, and you both said almost in unison, ‘You’ve got to take a shower.'”
“But we didn’t mean it like that,” Reynolds quipped. “When you shave your head and have a shower. Amazing, it feels so nice.”
“It’s a full religious experience,” Corrin agreed.
Corrin plays the supervillain Cassandra Nova opposite Reynolds’ Deadpool and Jackman’s Wolverine. This character from Marvel Comics makes her live-action debut in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
The film was released on Wednesday in France, Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan and will be released in the UK, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia on Thursday. It is scheduled to officially hit theaters on Friday in the United States and China, with some cinemas offering earlier screenings.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” marks the first R-rated superhero movie from Disney-owned Marvel Studios. The first two installments of the Deadpool franchise were also R-rated, released by 20th Century Fox before Disney acquired the studio in March 2019.