After the passing of Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek yesterday morning, actor and comedian Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter to post a tribute to the man who touched millions of viewers over his long career. Reynolds stated that Trebek was generous, gracious, and even funny, while pointing out that they were both Canadian, too.
And though the tribute alone was very touching, the Deadpool star also made mention of something that no one was really expecting. In the tweet, he stated that Trebek actually filmed a cameo for the upcoming comedy Free Guy, which stars Reynolds as a man who suddenly becomes aware that he’s an NPC in a video game. He didn’t give any further information regarding Trebek’s role, but it’s relatively safe to assume that the host will appear as himself.
Alex Trebek was kind enough to film a cameo for our film Free Guy last year despite his battle. He was gracious and funny. In addition to being curious, stalwart, generous, reassuring and of course, Canadian. We love you, Alex. And always will.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 8, 2020
Trebek’s passing is thought to have been a result of his battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which he first revealed to Jeopardy! viewers in March of 2019, and the legacy that he’s left is astounding. He first appeared as the host of the popular show way back in 1984 and recorded a total of over 8,200 installments across 37 seasons, earning him numerous Daytime Emmy Awards and the all-time record for hosting the most game show episodes ever.
Trebek will continue to appear in pre-filmed episodes of Jeopardy! as well until December 25th of this year, and Sony Pictures has thus far claimed that they have no plans to hire a replacement. But for fans around the world, it’s good to know that we’ll soon get to see a little bit more of him in Free Guy. Of course, Disney has removed the film from this year’s release schedule, but it’ll likely be with us at some point in 2021.