Ryan Reynolds is calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to — at long last — recognize stunt coordinators at the Oscars. In a lengthy new social media post, the 47-year-old Deadpool & Wolverine star explained why stunt workers should be honored at the annual Academy Awards.
“Stunt work doesn’t have a category at the Oscars, and I hope that’ll change someday,” Ryan wrote via X on Wednesday, August 28. “So many films have smashed it this year. Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chaplin were stunt performers as well as filmmakers. Telling stories with their entire bodies.”
Ryan then applauded the stunt team who worked with him and his co-star Hugh Jackman on the set of Deadpool & Wolverine, which premiered on July 26.
“This D&W stunt team over-delivered,” Ryan continued, before adding, “A lot of them are friends I’ve worked with for years, and I’ll spend the rest of my days doodling their names in my Heidi Stationary, dotting all the ‘i’s’ with little hearts. I’ve worked with Alex Kyshkovych since the very first @deadpoolmovie. He not only doubles me — he’s the fight coordinator.”
Stunt work doesn’t have a category at The Oscars and I hope that’ll change someday. So many films have smashed it this year. Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chaplin were stunt performers as well as filmmakers. Telling stories with their entire bodies.
This D&W stunt team… pic.twitter.com/19qfdKJew4
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 28, 2024
In typical Ryan fashion, the Proposal star joked that he’d “take a sledgehammer to the face for Alex. Or rather, I’d ask Alex to take a sledgehammer to the face for Alex.” He continued by shouting out others from the Deadpool & Wolverine stunt team.
“Second Unit Director/Supervising Stunt Coordinator, George Cottle is a HUGE GET,” Ryan wrote. “You’ve seen his genius in [Spider-Man: No Way Home] along with a ton of other gems. His skill is world class, and he made the entire film better. I’d let Alex to take a rusty fork to the eye for George.”
Toward the end of his message, Ryan acknowledged that Hugh, 55, performed some of his own stunts; however, the Greatest Showman‘s stunt double took on a heavier workload.
“It’s mind boggling how much @RealHughJackman does himself. But Daniel Stevens steps in for the truly dangerous stuff,” Ryan pointed out. “He’s been “Wolverining” a long time. As we know, Wolverining is HARD. I’d ask Alex to eat the crab salad I left on the dashboard for three straight days for Dan. Huge shoutout to Andy Lister for bringing a new and insane Wolvie gear to the Deadpool Corps fight as well.”
At the end of his tweet, Ryan encouraged his fans to join him in urging the Academy to finally recognize stunt workers in the film industry.
“If you’d like to see @TheAcademy recognize the amazing work of stunt teams ACROSS THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY, let them know!” Ryan concluded.
This isn’t the first time that an actor has called for the recognition of stunt teams. Ryan Gosling‘s movie The Fall Guy highlights the arduous work that stunt teams perform. Additionally, Hollywood Life exclusively spoke with Road House star Dominique Columbus earlier this year, and he expressed the same sentiment.
“One thing I really want is for the stunt team to get their flowers,” Dominique said earlier this year. “It bothers me to this day that the Academy Awards don’t give awards to stuntmen [and women]. It bothers me. Because when I watch people running the stunts on set, this is not an easy task.”
