Ryan Reynolds on the Disappointing Box Office Result That Taught Him the Most Valuable Lesson
Green Lantern, the DC superhero film that further catapulted actor Ryan Reynolds into the limelight, may be considered a box office disappointment, but the experience taught Reynolds the most important lesson of his entrepreneurial career.
'Constraint is the greatest creative tool you can possibly have,' Reynolds said at the 2025 TIME100 Summit in New York City on Wednesday, April 23. The actor mulled over the significance of storytelling and valuing substance over spectacle—including glitzy special effects—during a panel titled 'The Business of Creativity,' moderated by TIME correspondent Eliana Dockterman.
Now, in addition to playing Marvel antihero Deadpool —who Reynolds teases could be a supporting character in an upcoming show or movie that he's writing—the actor also serves as the co-founder of marketing and production company Maximum Effort. And outside of his Hollywood-adjacent business role, he is also proudly aligned with the Wrexham Football Club. 'Sports, music, and theatrical exhibition—and I include stage, as well—are the last bastions of togetherness that we have,' Reynolds said.
Those lessons have developed Maximum Effort into the fast-acting production company it is recognized for today. The company was behind the highly-praised Bluey-inspired Zillow ad, which was released days after the children's show aired an episode about selling a home. The company also developed a much discussed commercial with Aviation Gin, of which Reynolds is involved with. The ad featured the so-called 'Peloton wife,' who previously starred in a controversial Peloton ad, which saw a husband gift the bike to his wife for Christmas. In the following Aviation Gin ad, the wife had traded in her bike for a cocktail.
'We had that on the air 36 hours later. And I think now we can get that down to 12,' he says of the Aviation Gin ad, remarking how swiftly his production company can move when it comes to creating talk-worthy moments.
For Reynolds, much of his work centers around telling stories that can build a collective effervescence.
The Hulu docuseries Welcome to Wrexham follows Reynolds and his Wrexham business partner, fellow actor Rob McElhenney, avidly support and learn about the world of football via the underdog Welsh team, of which they are the majority shareholders.
'There's a Wrexham in almost every state in the union,' Reynolds said. 'We really aren't pulling them into our story. We just want to be a part of theirs.'
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The TIME100 Summit convenes leaders from the global TIME100 community to spotlight solutions and encourage action toward a better world. This year's summit features a variety of speakers across a diverse range of sectors, including business, health and science, AI, culture, and more.
Speakers for the 2025 TIME100 Summit include human rights advocate Yulia Navalnaya; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; comedian Nikki Glaser; climate justice activist Catherine Colman Flowers; Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, and many more, plus a performance by Nicole Scherzinger.
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