Ryan Reynolds Zings Rob Mac at Just for Laughs Awards
So when Ryan Reynolds on Friday paraded onstage for the 2025 Just For Laughs awards show to honor Rob Mac with a Generation Award, the Deadpool franchise star couldn't resist a jab at his fellow Wrexham AFC owner and executive producer of Welcome to Wrexham.
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'Rob, second place to the lifetime achievement award, amazing,' Reynolds said as he began his tribute to his friend and longtime business partner after a lifetime achievement trophy had just been handed out to comedian George Wallace.
'Hollywood can be an insipid shithouse of round-the-clock shamelessness,' Reynolds said as he touted the need for rare character among creatives and execs in a business short of it. 'You have to be willing to be excited to grind and push a dream up a hill and have the wherewithal to do it on your own,' he added about those with the right stuff, before insisting Mac had all of that and more.
'Nobody does 17 seasons of a television show with the same cast and crew and also happens to be a dick,' Reynolds said of Mac's long-running star turn on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 'And without Rob, there would be no donkey series called Welcome to Wrexham.'
When he joined Reynolds on stage, Mac recalled getting into the comedy business while inside of him was a 'terrified little boy who feels very alone.' He added to make it in Hollywood, he had to find people 'who understand me, who see me, who understand who I am.'
'I'm here because of Ryan Reynolds, who not only took my career in the stratosphere but also flew here to give this to me,' Mac added, noting Reynolds had given up precious time as an busy, A-list actor to lead the JFL tribute. Mac also gave respect to Wrexham in Wales, his wife, Kaitlin Olson, FX and a host of others.
'I don't consider myself one of you. I'm holding on. I'm watching what you do, and I'm holding on for dear life,' Mac added before he received a second standing ovation from the JFL audience.
Elsewhere during the Montreal awards show hosted by Matthew Broussard, there were endless jokes and other admissions of the pain that inspired stand-up comedy material, performances and careers.
Benito Skinner, known for his online persona Benny Drama and as the creator and star of the Prime Video comedy Overcompensating, recalled having started out as a social media content creator and avoiding eye contact with comics when straying into comedy clubs.
'I still avoid eye contact with comedians, and I think you should too. We are all mentally ill,' a sarcastic Skinner said as he received a breakout comedy star of the year prize from Mary Beth Barone.
Skinner also thanked JFL for aupporting his career, as did Hannah Berner, winner of the rising comedy star award this year. 'I want to thank JFL for putting me on New Faces a couple years ago and giving me my confidence. JFL has been so incredible to me and to all the comics who took me under their wings,' Berner said while clutching her comedy star trophy on stage at the MTelus theater on St. Catherine's Street.
For a comedy business long dominated by men, Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin felt the weight of the moment when the duo came up to receive the podcast of the year prize for their Handsome offering aimed at LGBTQ+ fans, including on behalf of co-host Tig Notaro, at the ComedyPRO conference kudos-fest.
'This means a lot to me, because I'm Canadian,' Martin said while on stage. 'For our community, representation is still very much needed and wanted, and it's cool to be talking about these different topics,' Feimster added.
Also Friday, when it came time for George Wallace, star of Amazon's Clean Slate comedy and a stand-up legend, to receive a lifetime achievement award and a standing ovation in Montreal, he talked himself up with trademark charm and humor.
'That means you've been around for a while and know a few things. And I know a few things,' Wallace said after 49 years in the business and first coming to Just For Laughs to perform in the 1980s. 'I said God, let me be the greatest bullshitter in the world. And he said, well, Donald Trump beat you to that. I'm not supposed to do political stuff,' he added.
Wallace also thanked his five agents, who were at his side in Montreal. 'They spent more money coming up here than they make for me,' he joked.
The Just For Laughs comedy festival continues through to Sunday.
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