Jake Gyllenhaal Writes a Tribute to ‘Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds

Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s Jake Gyllenhaal has high praise for Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, so much so that he’s written a tribute to the actor.

In a piece for Variety, Gyllenhaal honored the actor — who is also one of his close friends — as part of their New Power of New York and the focus of his praise was his work with Deadpool, specifically noting that it was with the Merc With the Mouth that Reynolds “made his own luck.”

“After years of waiting and struggling to fit his unfortunate, pear-shaped physique into the skinny jeans of a conventional romantic lead, Ryan made his own luck with Deadpool,” Gyllenhaal wrote.

“Ryan built the house of Deadpool brick by brick, constructing a space that inspired him and let him stretch to every corner of the room,” the tribute continues. “The remarkable success of Deadpool may have shocked the suits who took a chance on financing that ragtag superhero movie, but for the people who know and love Ryan, it was no surprise that the whole damn world rallied as soon as it had the chance to really see him: all of the edges and darkness, the crackerjack wit borne from a lifetime of sensitivity and sadness, and against all odds, the openness.”

The success of Deadpool is arguably one of the greatest achievements in Reynolds’ career and also one of the more interesting success stories in film. After first suiting up as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Reynolds tried to make his own Deadpool movie, but the project was dead in the water until leaked footage proved there was fan demand. Once green lit, Deadpool went on to make millions at the box office and its huge success led Reynolds to create his own production company, Maximum Effort which was named after one of the foul-mouthed hero’s catchphrases, that then went on to produce Deadpool 2.

And while Gyllenhaal honored that success, he also noted what he thinks truly makes Reynolds great: how he works hard but is still there for his family.

“So often — too often — the wildly talented people of our world funnel the lion’s share of their energy into their work, but as good a writer and comedian as Ryan is, he is a better friend and father and husband,” Gyllenhaal wrote. “And that, for me, is the true mark of power.”

Deadpool 2 is now available to own on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.