Deadpool & Wolverine actor Ryan Reynolds has joined the call to get the Academy Awards to add a new category for stunt work.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe star took to social media to praise the Deadpool & Wolverine stunt team, explaining why their work on the superhero blockbuster is worthy of an Oscar category.
“Stunt work doesn’t have a category at The Oscars and I hope that’ll change someday. So many films have smashed it this year. Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chaplin were stunt performers as well as filmmakers. Telling stories with their entire bodies,” Reynolds wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “This D&W stunt team over-delivered. A lot of them are friends I’ve worked with for years and I’ll spend the rest of my days doodling their names in my Heidi Stationary, dotting all the ‘i’s’ with little hearts.”
Reynolds then highlighted a few individual stunt performers, beginning with Alex Kyschkovych, who has doubled the actor as the titular Merc with the Mouth since 2016’s Deadpool and served as the Fight Coordinator. “I’d take a sledgehammer to the face for Alex. Or rather, I’d ask Alex to take a sledgehammer to the face for Alex,” wrote Reynolds.
The actor also praised Second Unit Director/Supervising Stunt Coordinator, George Cottle, calling him “a HUGE GET” for Deadpool & Wolverine, as well as Hugh Jackman’s stunt double, Daniel Stevens, and “Andy Lister for bringing a new and insane Wolvie gear to the Deadpool Corps fight as well.” Reynolds ended his X post by telling MCU fans to let their voice be heard in letting the Academy know that they want “the amazing work of stunt teams ACROSS THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY” to be recognized at its annual awards ceremony.
Check out Reynolds’ X thread, which includes a ton of behind-the-scenes images, below:
Deadpool & Wolverine continues to top the box office
At the time of writing, Deadpool & Wolverine has earned over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. Despite being released in theaters more than a month ago, the MCU movie is expected to top the domestic box office again in its sixth weekend of release. Its box office reign will likely end the week after, when the hotly-anticipated legacy sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, opens worldwide.
Deadpool & Wolverine is currently playing in theaters.
