10 Movie Performances Which Saved An Actor’s Career

You could have forgiven Ryan Reynolds for never wanting to set foot in the superhero genre again after seeing his beloved Deadpool be butchered in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and his underwhelming experience playing Hal Jordan in Green Lantern.

After these two critically panned efforts, Reynolds largely stayed away from mainstream blockbusters, spending most of his time making animated features like The Croods and Turbo, unmemorable comedies like The Change-Up and The Voices, and the odd decent-to-dreadful action flick, with Safe House and R.I.P.D. both springing to mind.

However, just when it seemed like Reynolds was destined to spend the rest of his career appearing in sub-par action, comedy or drama flicks, a thing happened. A Deadpool shaped thing.

Only this time, instead of having his mouth ridiculously sewn shut, this version of the Merc with a Mouth allowed Reynolds to completely let loose, quipping like a man possessed and breaking the fourth wall at will. Reynolds' unhinged performance as Wade Wilson in this 2016 "R" rated masterpiece not only reinvigorated the Deadpool character, but it also gave the actor's career the boost it was in dire need of.

With the success of Deadpool came a newfound faith in Reynolds as a bonafide movie star, and it wasn't long before he was starring in everything from sci-fi thrillers (Life) to Pokemon pictures (Detective Pikachu). He also returned as Wilson in a 2018 Deadpool sequel.

Oh, and Reynolds now looks set to bring his potty-mouthed character to the MCU too. So, brace yourselves for that.