Like many actors before him, Ryan Reynolds first rose to prominence as the star of a TV sitcom before making the jump into movies, and for the first couple of years, he tended to be cast in roles that were an extension of the persona he’d honed on Two Guys and a Girl. Van Wilder, Buying the Cow, Foolproof and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle were all standard fare, before he diversified his output with roles in blockbuster sequel Blade: Trinity and remake The Amityville Horror.
The roads eventually led back to comedy, though, and in 2005, Reynolds headlined indie feature Waiting… alongside a talented ensemble that also boasted Justin Long, Anna Faris, David Koechner and Luis Guzman. Reviews weren’t particularly kind, and even fifteen years later the movie holds a weak Rotten Tomatoes score of just 30%, but it was a decent sized box office hit after earning $18 million on a minuscule production budget of only $3 million.
In what was just the fourth leading role of his career, Ryan Reynolds gave audiences a glimpse of the natural charisma, comic timing and undeniable star power that would eventually see him become one of the biggest and most in-demand names in the business, and the 43 year-old has so many offers coming his way now that he’s got thirteen movies in various stages of development.
Best known these days for starring in action-packed blockbusters like the Deadpool franchise and 6 Underground, Waiting… arrives on Netflix this week on September 23rd and will give fans the chance to check out one of the more forgotten entries from Ryan Reynolds‘ filmography that’s a million miles away from the mega budget fare that’s since become his stock in trade.