The 15 best Ryan Reynolds movies and TV shows ranked, from Deadpool to Definitely Maybe

15. Woman in Gold (2015)

Reynolds plays against type as a white-collar desk jockey in this drama starring Helen Mirren as real-life Jewish refugee Maria Altmann, who fought to reclaim her family’s Gustav Klimt portrait after it was stolen by the Nazis during World War II. 

Although EW’s critic praised Mirren’s formidable performance, she felt that Reynolds was miscast in the dull role of Altmann’s rookie lawyer, which didn’t help this “well-intentioned miss” find its footing. Still, working with Mirren left Reynolds star-struck. “She’s a living, breathing, cussing legend,” he told EW in 2015. “She’s the best. Everyone that orbits her atmosphere is a little breathless.”

Where to watch Woman in Gold: Netflix

14. National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002)

National Lampoon’s Van Wilder isn’t the funniest movie Reynolds has made, nor have some of its jokes aged particularly well over the past two decades. But the raunchy college comedy squeaks onto this list as the film introduced the charming Canadian to a worldwide audience. In his review, EW’s critic wrote that “Reynolds, with his air-popped suavity, suggests the son of John Lithgow pretending to be Rob Lowe portraying Ferris Bueller.”

Reynolds mentioned his role as seventh-year senior Van Wilder in a self-deprecating 2011 EW cover story, joking that the “one-woman show” surprised him by earning “absolutely no significant award nominations.”

Where to watch National Lampoon’s Van Wilder: Amazon Prime Video

13. Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

Not only did Reynolds voice the popular Pokémon character in this adaptation of the 2016 video game, but he also provided the motion-capture face acting for the little yellow crime-solver. EW’s critic found Pokémon Detective Pikachu “narratively incoherent to the point of being almost avant-garde,” but Reynolds gamely took on the press-release press tour, even penning this answer to EW’s “interview” with Pikachu: “Most people go home, slip into something more comfortable,” he joked in character. “My entire life is soft, stroke-able fur.”

Where to watch Pokemon Detective Pikachu: Netflix

12. Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place (1998–2001)

Van Wilder may have been Reynolds’ comedy breakout, but fans of ABC’s late-’90s sitcom Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place were already well aware of his handsome, smirky on-screen presence thanks to his role as one of the titular guys. EW gave the show a middling C-, although it did run for four years and added future ABC primetime mainstay Nathan Fillion to the cast in its second season. 

Reynolds has nothing but love for his time as slacker med student Berg. “That job was so much fun for me,” Reynolds said on Watch What Happens Live in 2016. “I would totally do [a reunion] in a heartbeat.”

Where to watch Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place: Not available to stream

11. Blade: Trinity (2004)

By 2004, Reynolds had carved out a comfortable spot for himself in the comedy space, so his next step was to spread his wings — his big-bicep’d, gym-honed wings — in the third outing of the Wesley Snipes-led Blade franchise.

As vampire turned vampire hunter Hannibal King, Reynolds is equal parts cocky quips, lethally precise action, and visible-from-space abs thanks to the personal trainer who Reynolds told EW “just kicked my ass into fine cottage cheese pudding for about six months.” Although EW’s critic called Blade: Trinity “blunt-witted, visually pedestrian, and overly long,” it nevertheless launched Reynolds into the action-star stratosphere where he remains to this day. 

Where to watch Blade: Trinity: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

10. The Nines (2007)

The Nines is a quirky sci-fi thriller that casts Reynolds as three different men — an actor, a TV writer, and a video game designer — whose lives overlap in mystifying ways. EW’s critic called the film a “weirdly engrossing head-scratcher of a metaphysical puzzle movie,” yet the choice makes sense when you consider what Reynolds said in 2009 when he was named EW’s Entertainer of the Year: “Ultimately [not being typecast is] the greatest relief an actor can experience… I’m able to flow from one genre to the next and not be penalized for it in any particular way.”

Where to watch The Nines: Tubi

9. Buried (2010)

If you’re the least bit claustrophobic, you may want to skip to the next item on our list. But if you’re still with us, you’ll find Buried to be a taut survival story starring Reynolds as a civilian contractor in Iraq who’s kidnapped and buried alive in a wooden coffin.

EW’s critic called this film “diabolical” and “Hitchcock-influenced,” praising the suffocating feel of Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés’ camera angles and lighting. Reynolds himself felt similarly encumbered during filming, telling EW in 2010, “I’ve never been happier to finish a movie… I never slept, and it was a real problem.”

Where to watch Buried: Amazon Prime Video

8. The Adam Project (2022)

Shawn Levy’s time-loop film finds Reynolds’ character traveling back to his past, where his younger self (Walker Scobell) and his mother (Jennifer Garner) are grieving the loss of his father (Mark Ruffalo). Although this isn’t quite the sequel 13 Going on 30 fans were hoping for, The Adam Project “barrels along on movie stars and charm,” EW’s critic wrote in her review. 

The film also connected with Reynolds on a personal level. “There's a line in there that is from my real life, which is that ‘boys always come back for their mamas.’ And that's very true when my dad passed away,” he told EW. “I'm one of four boys and it was just like this circling the wagons around my mom.”

Where to watch The Adam Project: Netflix

7. Definitely, Maybe (2008)

Sure, you could suggest that Definitely, Maybe is simply the big-screen version of How I Met Your Mother, but that would undercut the film’s many delights as it unravels the mystery of which of Reynolds’ former flames (Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, and Elizabeth Banks) is the mother of his young daughter (Abigail Breslin), as well as his soon-to-be ex-wife.

In addition to showcasing Reynolds’ chemistry with each of his leading ladies, Definitely, Maybe also let him flex his dramatic muscles. “It’s easy to go for a big joke, but sometimes it’s at the cost of your character,” he told EW around the film’s release. “I’m learning to not do that.” 

Where to watch Definitely, Maybe: Max

6. Mississippi Grind (2015)

In this overlooked gem, Reynolds plays a charismatic poker player who becomes a good luck charm for Ben Mendelsohn’s washed-up gambling addict. Ryan Fleck, who co-wrote and directed the film with Anna Boden, told EW that they shot the character-driven work “in lived-in, down and dirty places that you don’t see too much in modern movies these days.”

The resulting road-trip movie “makes better use of Reynolds’ chummy bro bonhomie than perhaps anything he’s ever been in,” EW’s critic wrote following Mississippi Grind’s Sundance Film Festival premiere.  

Where to watch Mississippi Grind: Cinemax

5. Adventureland (2009)

The ‘80s-set, coming-of-age ensemble film Adventureland is packed with names who, as of 2009, had just broken out or were about to, including Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Reynolds as a sleazy yet compelling mechanic who works at the titular amusement park.

EW’s critic gave Adventureland an A, praising its “loving and pinpoint-perfect observational eye for the late ‘80s.” And as a bonus, it boasts a killer soundtrack.

Where to watch Adventureland: PlutoTV

4. Free Guy (2021)

If your self-aware action-comedy needs a star, Reynolds will probably be on top of your dream casting list. Thankfully, director Shawn Levy landed the in-demand actor to lead Free Guy, the 2021 film about an NPC (that’s non-player character, for you non-gamers) who becomes sentient.

EW’s critic called this film a “glossy sci-fi blockbuster with a tender little Ted Lasso heart” — no surprise with a cast that includes Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi, Lil Rel Howery, and Joe Keery, plus enough cameos to fill Free City. Although Guy has yet to respawn for a sequel, a follow-up is reportedly in the works. 

Where to watch Free Guy: Disney+

3. The Proposal (2009)

Reynolds and his longtime friend Sandra Bullock make rom-com magic in this beloved fake-relationship/enemies-to-lovers flick. “We had a kind of Abbott and Costello routine we’d been doing for years anyway,” Reynolds told EW in 2009. ”When I get someone like Sandy to work with — who’s so good at hitting the gas — it’s perfect for me.”

EW’s critic also found their partnership in The Proposal to be undeniably good, writing in her B+ review that “The chemical energy between Bullock and Reynolds is fresh and irresistible.”

Where to watch The Proposal: Hulu

2. Welcome to Wrexham (2022–present)

If you haven’t checked out this funny, emotional, and optimistic documentary series yet, consider this your sign to do so. In 2020, Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) purchased a struggling Welsh soccer club and agreed to film the ups and downs as they worked to make Wrexham A.F.C. competitive again.

Welcome to Wrexham is part of the grand tradition of “sports entertainment that isn’t really about sports,” whose members also include Friday Night Lights, Ted Lasso, and Kingdom. Like the best of its kind, Wrexham celebrates community, connection, humanity — and, yes, the wins and losses of the band of brothers (and its all-women sister team) on the pitch. 

Where to watch Welcome to Wrexham: Hulu

1. Deadpool (2016)

Look, we’re not saying Reynolds was put on this earth to bring Wade Wilson to life, but we’re not not saying it either. What other actor could so perfectly capture the Merc with the Mouth’s unique blend of sarcastic amorality, gleeful obscenity, and squishy emotional center, not to mention his direct-to-audience sidebars?

EW’s critic awarded a B to the “naughty, hard-R fun” of Reynolds’ first full-length outing as Deadpool, and another one of our critics had just as much fun with the 2018 sequel, which she described as “rolled in radioactive goo and stuffed inside a cinematic piñata of fourth-wall breaks, severed limbs, and Yentl jokes.” Here’s hoping Deadpool & Wolverine will serve up a third dose of sparkly unicorn goodness for its eager fans.

Where to watch Deadpool: Max and Disney+ (which is where you can also stream Deadpool 2)