Ryan Reynolds on Chemistry with Sandra Bullock and Hugh Jackman

Ryan Reynolds has a lot of love for former costars Sandra Bullock and Hugh Jackman — and considers them both “romantic comedy” partners.

The actor, producer and entrepreneur, 48, opened up about his three decades in Hollywood at the Toronto International Film Festival’s “In Conversation With…” series on Friday, Sept. 5.

In front of a crowd at the Royal Alexandra Theater during a 90-minute talk with moderator Anita Lee, TIFF’s chief programming officer, Reynolds reflected on costar chemistry and the magic behind it.

“Chemistry is something that’s either there or it’s not,” said Reynolds. “You can create it, though, in the edit room… when you overlap dialogue, it’s chemistry. It feels like chemistry. It feels exactly like chemistry. So when you get two characters talking at the same time, we can still hear what they’re saying, but it sounds like they’re comfortable with each other.”

“But,” he continued, “if you just have that natural chemistry, God, it’s beautiful. It’s just a wonderful thing.” 

Reynolds mentioned Bullock, 61, his costar in the 2009 hit romantic comedy The Proposal.

“Sandra Bullock had been a friend of mine for over a decade before we even shot The Proposal,” he said. “One of the greatest memories I have is dancing in a nightclub all night with Sandra and George Michael. All night. And I go to bed at 8:30 p.m. mostly.” (Reynolds has previously told the night club story, but clarified that they were dancing to Michael’s music.)

“We had so much fun on that movie and you can feel it. You can sometimes feel it when people are really enjoying each other on screen,” added Reynolds, who said he and Bullock had a “back and forth” that was a “beautiful thing.”

Reynolds added that he shares a similar type of ease with Jackman, 56, who starred with Reynolds most recently in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

“Hugh Jackman is my other romantic comedy partner,” he joked to laughter. “I’ve known him for 17 years now. Chemistry is a great thing when it’s there. Sometimes it’s not. And that’s a bummer when it’s not.”

The wide-ranging chat covered the Vancouver native’s beginnings as a teen actor in Canada, his Hollywood break on the 1998 to 2001 sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (later retitled Two Guys and a Girl) and his rise to fame in movies like Van Wilder.

The night before his “In Conversation With…” talk, Reynolds appeared at the premiere of the new documentary John Candy: I Like Me, a film he produced about the late comedian, directed by Colin Hanks.

Reynolds previously told Toronto Life about his desire to highlight Candy, a fellow Canadian who starred in hits like Home Alone, Spaceballs and Planes, Trains and Automobiles before he died at age 43 in 1994. 

“Joy is a scarce resource in the world right now, and John represented joy — in his work, in his life. John was a good person even when nobody was watching,” said Reynolds.

“One of the things we kept hearing when reaching out to potential interview subjects was, ‘That’s not going to be an interesting project. He’s unimpeachable.’ This was a man who was an engine of joy, someone you can’t think about without smiling,” he continued.

Reynolds told the outlet that Candy has inspired much of his own work.

“I borrow from him pretty regularly. In all the films I’ve produced and written, there are references to John Candy, most often Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” he said.

John Candy: I Like Me streams on Prime Video on Friday, Oct. 10.