The Suicide Squad's Nathan Fillion Gushes Over Ryan Reynolds' Free Guy
Nathan Fillion is known for an array of projects ranging from Firefly to Castle, and he was most recently seen in The Suicide Squad as T.D.K., one of only two members of Task Force X that was created by James Gunn just for the film. The Suicide Squad wasn't the only big movie to hit theaters this summer. Ryan Reynolds' Free Guy also had a successful run at the box office, and it's expected to get a sequel in the future. Turns out, Fillion was a big fan of the Reynolds film, which followed an NPC named Guy in a multiplayer game world who starts to realize he can affect the world and the people in it. The actor took to Instagram yesterday to praise the movie, and joke about its pandemic-related delays.
"I was 17 years old when I saw the first trailer for #FreeGuy, and now that it's finally here, I can say it was worth the wait. With all of @vancityreynolds ' action hero roles, one could be forgiven for forgetting the very smart and subtle character work that he's capable of. Guy has fresh eyes. The amount of calculation, evaluation, and understanding that goes into how a character 'discovers' what we all take for granted cannot be understated. I experienced real joy watching this film, and you don't have to be a video game nerd to appreciate it. Yes, the spectacle of special effects is tremendous, but see it for the work, the expressions on Guy's face, the brilliant confusion he endures in comprehending the world in which he lives, and the loving heart that beats within him. Also, he falls down a lot, and I love that stuff," Fillion wrote. You can view his post below:
Free Guy was directed by Shawn Levy and based on a story by Matt Lieberman. In addition to Reynolds, the movie stars Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Red Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi. ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis recently spoke to Levy about Free Guy, and he opened up about directing Reynolds.
"Yeah. The truth is, as I said, if you're lucky enough to direct Ryan Reynolds in a starring role, you get all these secret weapons in addition. And the truth is that Ryan has very quirky, weird, inspired musical taste," Levy explained. "So whether it was the Mariah Carey song or make your own kind of music, like a deep cut from the '50s or '60s, Ryan sometimes will go, 'Is this a weird idea or should we try this song?' And what I've learned with Ryan is don't say no, at least give it a try because eight out of 10 times, it's going to be amazing, and it's going to make it into the movie."
As for Fillion, he also recently spoke with ComicBook.com and explained how he and Gunn collaborated on his character. Fillion joked, "My participation in the invention of the character kind of went like this. James saying, 'Here's how it's going to go.' And me saying, 'That sounds good.' That's what I call dissipation."
"I take a lot of credit. It's all about the function of the character in the story," Fillion added. "What is his function in the story? And TDK's abilities, for me, clearly spelled out his function and I got it. I know exactly what you need. I know what you're looking for. I know what you want. Boom. Let's do this. I get it."
Free Guy is being released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 12th, and The Suicide Squad on October 26th.