There’s a bit of a generation gap between the characters in the film. How was that for you in real life? Did it manifest itself on set?
Ryan Reynolds: We hit it off. We got along like a house on fire. We were having a ball.
Jeff Bridges: Yeah.
Ryan Reynolds: There certainly is a gap in that I’m such a huge fan of Jeff. I think he’s a legend and, particularly, I think he can embody a character better than anyone in the game. Character acting is a much braver pursuit than a guy who runs around and intermittently clenches his jaw muscles. Just to be around that and learn from that is something that I adored.
Jeff Bridges: We approached the whole thing in a very similar way, where we liked to engage with the other actors. I could have said, ‘Ryan, I want you to call me Roycephus.’ Some actors do that, but we both liked to get to know each other and get to know the players. And also I think the way we approach acting is similar.
Ryan Reynolds: When you work with method actors, it can be very off-putting and kind of invasive, too. I respect anyone’s process, but it’s not very fun when the villain in the movie is giving you the hairy eyeball at lunch. It’s like ‘Come on, man. Really?’ We’re all in SAG. You don’t really have a gun. It’s fun to keep the work fresh and playful, and also just to get to know one another. You’re with each other five months, you want to make the most of that time and the experience.
Both of you mentioned your fathers and upbringing. How have your families influenced you as you’ve grown up and the decisions you make now?
Ryan Reynolds: I was the youngest of four boys. Five if you include my Father, who might be the youngest. I was less a little brother and more of just a moving target around the house. It was certainly a positive childhood, but you have to have a high tolerance for some immensely disgusting acts with three older brothers. My older brother, Terry, his favorite seat in the house was my face. I’m not exaggerating at all. It was pretty rough.
Jeff Bridges: Especially when he had to fart.
Ryan Reynolds: Yes! When he had a full dinner, there it was, my face, was his favorite seat in the house. It was a great childhood, but it was kind of an adventure. Having three older brothers is both awful and amazing at the same time. I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to get an earring. I was 13 years old and my brothers were saying, ‘You’re dead. Dad is gonna turn you into an actual liquid if you do this,’ and I said, ‘I don’t care. I’m getting this earring!’ So I went with my friend Ken and his mom to Sears after school and got an earring. On my way home, I was just a dead man walking. I know I’m gonna get to dinner and my father was gonna take his fork and he’s gonna put it in my jugular, I’m gonna bleed out at the table. When I got home though, I heard my father mutter something kind of vile and I look up and he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at my three older brothers and each one of them got their ear pierced that day to save my ass, which I just thought was the sweetest thing in the world. I look back at that and that forgives all the times my face was a seat cushion.
Jeff Bridges: My dad, unlike a lot of actors in showbiz, he loved showbiz and he loved acting, and he really encouraged all of his kids to go into it. When I was eight years old, he’d say, ‘ Hey!’ You wanna come to work with dad? Come on! It’ll be fun!’ I’d say, ‘[Groans].’ He’d say, ‘Come on! You’ll get to get out of school. Come on! It’ll be fun!’ So he always encouraged us to do that and, of course, he was my teacher. He taught me all the basics about acting. I think maybe the thing I learned most from him was not anything that he told me, but just watching him work. I got to act with him as an adult a couple times in Tucker and Blown Away, and I really sensed this joy that he had, that he’d be wanting to turn his kids onto as well. He had that in his soul and that joy was kind of contagious. Working with Francis Coppola on Tucker, I remember, Francis is a bit of a kid in a way himself, so the two of those guys together, everybody says, ‘Oh, this is fun what we’re doing here!’ That kind of spreads through everybody, you’re having fun, you’re kind of relaxed, and the stuff can come out easier. That’s what I’d find. But he was a wonderful, great dad.
Ryan, what or who do you think are the monsters of this earth in real life today?
Ryan Reynolds: That’s a great question. Holy sh*t. Wow. You look at who has the most influence and how it’s being used. I can’t help it, but look at some politics and government. I just think we lack the ability to teach our children dialogue at this point. I think if we taught kids conflict/resolution, I hate to be so serious about it, but at a young age about really hearing other people and understanding their perspective, and then sharing your own when it’s appropriate, I think the world would be a totally different place.
Jeff Bridges: What comes to mind is, you remember Pogo? ‘I have met the enemy. They are us.’ That’s kind of it! It popped into my mind that we’re all Deados, basically. [Laughs]
That concludes our interview but we’d like to thank Jeff and Ryan for taking the time to talk to us. Be sure to check out R.I.P.D., in theatres this Friday!