How much is Ryan Reynolds worth?
| Net Worth: | $180 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | October 23, 1976 (age 46) |
| Country: | Canada |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
About Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds is an actor and producer who is most well known for playing the foul mouthed anti-hero, Deadpool. After his career was on the rocks from a string of box office failures and knowing that it was do or die, Reynolds came back bigger than ever and shook off his romantic-comedy good guy persona with his now iconic role of the invincible wise-cracker, becoming one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood.
Reynolds’ first well established role that stopped him from having to live paycheck to paycheck was in the successful series Two Guys And A Girl, which lasted for 81 episodes. After ratings for the show dipped in its fourth season and was finally cancelled by the studio, Reynolds took on his first major role, starring as the lovable campus party animal in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.
It was a frat movie to end them all as it was called derivative and slaughtered by critics. However, Reynolds proved he was capable of being a leading man and the movie still became a moderate success despite being critically loathed. After that, Reynolds managed to walk the line between romantic comedies and action flicks.
The actor was long thought of as the ladies’ man, always playing the good guy who gets the girl in countless romantic comedies, such as The Proposal, Definitely Maybe, and Just Friends. Reynolds tried balancing the scales by starring in action movies like Smoking Aces, Blade: Trinity, and Fireproof, which only seemed to be successful in Canada. Most successful of all, by a landslide, is his role as Wade Wilson, a.k.a Deadpool.
Not only was Deadpool one of the highest-grossing movies of the year and broke box-office records at the time, it was the highest grossing R-rated movie ever when it was released in 2016. It also had a much higher profit margin than films that grossed more as Deadpool’s budget was considerably low for that kind of a movie. With a budget of just $58 million the first Deadpool movie grossed $783.1 million globally.
The studio were scared about producing Deadpool because executives were afraid to go ahead with an R rating, as that would considerably limit the amount of people who were allowed to see it, and people below 17 is the movie’s core audience. Fans and critics loved it though, for its humor and breaking the fourth wall. Reynolds was praised for his performance and compared him to Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, explaining it was the role he was born to play.
Reynolds earned only an estimated $2 million for his role as Deadpool in the first movie, which seems insane considering the actor had such a massive role in shaping the on-screen character. Fortunately for Reynolds, he received about $20 million dollars in bonuses after the movie became such a massive box office success.
Deadpool wouldn’t even have been green lit and Reynolds wouldn’t have earned so much if it wasn’t for somebody leaking test footage for a potential Deadpool movie years before production. This footage sent fans into a frenzy and campaigned to get the movie made. Reynolds heavily hinted that he was the one to leak the footage, though he has never come completely clean on it.
In 2019, he was paid $27 million to star in Six Undreground, a Netflix original action movie by Michael Bay. Not only that, but 2019 was a hugely financially successful year for the actor as he voiced the title role in the animated movie, Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
Though Pokemon is an existing IP and it had found huge success with the Pokemon Go app which had millions of adults playing, the film franchise had been stagnant for a long time. Against all odds, the movie made $433.9 million in the box office, which is hundreds of millions more than any other Pokemon movie has ever made. Besides the fact that the movie completely reinvented the perception of Pokemon, a large amount of Detective Pikachu’s success must be accredited to Ryan Reynolds’ distinct voice and turning the character into a witty and sarcastic cute animal version of his real life self.
Besides Pokemon, Reynolds has also found success in a lot of other voice-acting work, starring in two massive animated movies in 2013, The Croods and Turbo, which have a combined box office gross of over $850 million. The Croods earned $587.2 million and Turbo earned $282.6 million.
Although most of Reynolds’ wealth comes from salaries for his leading roles, he also became a owner of Aviation Gin, in February 2018.
Though it seems like he doesn’t get out of bed in the morning for less than $20 million, Reynolds has been known to drop his huge fee for projects with low budgets if he’s interested in them. In 2009, he starred in Buried, a 90 minute movie that features Reynolds trying to get out of a coffin the whole movie. It was a sleeper hit, though the movie only earned $21.3 million, it still made ten times its budget as it was made for only about $2 million. Reynolds likely earned around $6-7 million in a backend percentage deal.
Reynolds is known for his quick and razor sharp wit, and besides his rugged look, it’s what has gotten him several major roles in the past and is what helped him score some incredible roles already and more exciting upcoming projects.
Reynolds was the perfect choice for a Deadpool and as many of the movie’s jokes are related to the actor’s past, poking fun at Reynold’s movies that weren’t so successful. Deadpool wasn’t his first superhero role as he had previously starred in The Green Lantern, a movie that was panned by critics for its dreadful CGI and having a budget too big to possibly be successful.
He also played Deadpool years before the movie, albeit in a very different way. In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Reynolds featured as Deadpool with his mouth sewn shut and wearing a mundane outfit entirely unlike the iconic red suit. Despite negative comments from fans, Reynolds was determined to make the R-rated Deadpool movies that in the end, almost everyone wanting to see.
Reynolds’ Total Net Worth
Ryan Reynolds earned just $2 million dollars on the frontend for his first appearance as Wade Wilson in Deadpool. He earned 10x that amount, $20 million dollars, however in the backend deal that put his earnings in the region of $22 million dollars for the first movie. For Deadpool 2, he earned even more. This time between his frontend paycheck and his backend slice of the movies profits, it is estimated that he earned $35 million dollars from the film.
Overall, from all of his work in the movie business it is estimated that Reynolds has already earned some $135 million dollars. That is, after appearing in over 115 films and TV series, as well as producing and writing, not to mention the appearances that he has made as himself.
Reynolds is Canadian but has since attained citizenship in the United States, in 2018. Generally no distinction is made between US citizens and green card holders, therefore, he will have been paying around the same tax rate even before he naturalized. Before paying tax, as a employed individual, Reynolds will have been able to deduct his business costs first.
Of his $135 million dollars income, $10-11 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $124.5 million, will have been taxed at a rate close to 50% as Reynolds has earned substantial sums and through years when California tax rates have been high. No doubt something that Reynolds cares very little about considering the fortune he has made in Hollywood. After tax, it is estimated that Reynolds career earnings are at around $62.25 million, having paid the same amount in taxes.
Ryan Reynolds married Scarlett Johansson in 2008 but they later divorced in 2011. It is unclear who paid who considering they were both solid earnings. Considering there were no children involved they likely walked away with an amicable agreement of leaving the marriage with what each brought into it.
Then in 2012, Reynolds married Blake Lively. Together they have three children, James, Inez and Betty Reynolds. They remain together and appear happy and content with each other, their lives and their careers. They currently live in Pound Ridge, New York where they are close friends with Taylor Swift, she actually named her song “Betty” after their daughter.
Reynolds has spoken about his struggle with anxiety and in 2018 he carried out many interviews in the character of Deadpool to alleviate his fears. That being the case, a touch of anxiety in his financial life has likely added to his net worth.
He is known to have invested some of his money into real estate but far more into business. Reynolds acquired an estimated 25% of Aviation Gin’s outstanding shares. He also helped to grow the business through a series of advertisements improving the brand awareness and bottle sales. Then, when in 2020, a global leader in beverage alcohol, Diageo, bought out Aviation Gin for over $600 million, Reynolds’ stake in the company may have grown to be worth around $150 million. As the exact details regarding his percentage of ownership of the company, among other factors, is unknown. The figure is being counted in as $100 million in this net worth calculation.
In his personal life, it is estimated that Reynolds may have spent $8-9 million dollars of his career earnings but also probably possesses assets valued at around $4-5 million, not including investment assets. In his investments, not including his entrepreneurship but including his investment in equities, he may have earned investment returns of $20-25 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that Ryan Reynolds has a net worth of around $180 million dollars.
Summing-Up
Reynolds was only paid $150 per episode for his very first acting gig, Fifteen, and that was for playing a lead role. Now the actor has earned as much as $35 million for a leading role and has a back-catalogue of hugely successful blockbuster movies and an estimated net worth of $180 million. There’s a long upcoming slate of Ryan Reynolds movies to look forward to, however, I’d recommend holding your breath for Deadpool 3.
