Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s faux feud is practically legendary at this point. Fans have long enjoyed watching the two throw verbal jabs at each other on social media and in person. Of course, their battle of wits only masks the true friendship that the two actors share. Their relationship has not only sparked some truly hilarious moments but some genuinely sweet ones as well. On that note, Reynolds recently shared a sweet story that involved him coming home to find his kids rocking out to The Greatest Showman alongside Jackman.
As of late, the two frenemies have been making the rounds in order to promote their new movie, the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine. The two actors alongside director Shawn Levy took some time to speak with Sirius XM to discuss the upcoming Marvel movie. During the discussion, the interviewer brought up the fact that “The Greatest Show,” from The Greatest Showman, is part of the D&W soundtrack. After Hugh Jackman revealed his colleagues’ love for the circus-centric flick, Ryan Reynolds’ attested to it. He then proceeded to recall how his kids ended up having a truly bombastic viewing of the film alongside Jackman:
My kids watch ‘Greatest Showman’ all the time. I’ve walked into my house… This is a true story. I’m not making this [up]. I’ve walked into my house, the one on Hudson that we talked about, and I come in, I’ve heard ‘The Greatest Showman’ playing, and I come around the corner and there are my kids watching the movie, singing along, and there’s Hugh acting it out with them like just this big kid. It was [one of] the most heartbreaking, beautiful things I’d ever seen. I knew I would never be able to top it, so I’ve started a new life in a new country with a secret family just like everyone’s supposed to.
In my humble opinion, Ryan Reynolds comes off as someone who’s known to expect the unexpected. But I’m not sure that he would’ve ever imagined that he’d walk into his abode and find his fake frenemy acting out the 2017 musical film for his kids. It all sounds incredibly sweet, though, and surely that’s a cool and unique memory that the Reynolds kids will have. Also, it delights me to no end that Ryan views that moment as being both “heartbreaking” and “beautiful,” because he’ll never top it. I’m sure he’ll receive solace in that regard from his secret family, though. (Just kidding about that last part, of course.)
Nearly seven years after its release, The Greatest Showman remains a beloved title due to its winning cast of Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya and co. And, of course, the incredibly catchy songs – including the Oscar-nominated “This Is Me” – also make the film a fan-favorite. One might be tempted to think that when Jackman watched the movie with Ryan Reynolds’ kids, they streamed it with a Disney+ subscription. However, when skewering Reynolds during their recent interview, Jackman revealed just how he and the group watched the film:
Hugh Jackman: By the way, we didn’t rent it. We bought it on your account.
Ryan Reynolds: Oh, thank you. Thank you. I’ve been avoiding that for years.
HJ: Residuals.
RR: Yeah, I live to line your pockets, Jackman.
I’d say that Mr. Jackman is doing quite well financially, and one might assume that another Greatest Showman movie could line his pockets even more. Jackman himself is open to a sequel, but he apparently wouldn’t do it for the money. He’d be open to it if there’s a good idea for a story. Jackman’s no stranger to sequels after all, giving he’s once again returning as Wolverine for the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Time will tell if a follow-up to his 2017 musical film will ever see the light of day. But, until then, Jackman has major bragging rights over Ryan Reynolds due to his jam session with his buddy’s kids.
You can see the two delightful leading men at their best (and worst) in Deadpool & Wolverine, which opens in theaters on July 26 as part of the 2024 movie schedule.