TJ Miller slammed for “ridiculous” Ryan Reynolds claim

Christopher Baggett
Deadpool and Weasel from Deadpool 2

With the upcoming release of Deadpool & Wolverine, all eyes are turning to the first two movies. For actor TJ Miller, that’s led to another storm of controversy after comments made about Ryan Reynolds.

Miller, who appeared in the first two Deadpool films as Wade’s best friend, Weasel, was asked about his career while appearing on the podcast Help! with Natalie Cuomo.

While discussing his work on Transformers and Deadpool, Miller seemed to imply that Reynolds was not famous before his debut as the Merc with the Mouth and that the movie’s success had changed his personality.

“People get really famous, and then things get really weird,” Miller said. “That’s what happened from Deadpool 1 to Deadpool 2. You first had Ryan Reynolds who wasn’t like, um, everybody knew who he was but he had never had, like, he had a lot of movies that were failures or just didn’t do that well.”

Of course, the claims have generated a heated response from fans of both Deadpool and Reynolds, with many pointing out the ridiculousness of the comments on social media.

“Ryan Reynolds was absolutely famous before Deadpool,” one X/Twitter user said. “Two Guys and a Girl (TV), Just Friends, The Croods, The Proposal… those are just a few of the successful ones.”

Another observed: “TJ Miller is so unlikable that I’m seeing people who would rather have a foot cut off than see Deadpool 3 step up to defend Ryan Reynolds.”

“TJ miller will always be known for as the guy who pissed Michael Bay off so much that he had five different shots of his death in TF4,” said one, referring to Miller’s infamous death scene where his character is incinerated in a long, drawn-out sequence.

Reynolds, who got his start acting in Canada, was already a successful (if not prolific) actor long before 2016’s Deadpool. At the time, he was known for appearances in smaller films, including National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Waiting, and The Amityville Horror.

For many fans, though, he’s first recognizable as either the fast-talking Hannibal King from Blade Trinity or the hopeless Berg from the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. More infamously, he is also known for the dismal Green Lantern movie in 2011.

Why is TJ Miller not in Deadpool 3?

Miller, who was a notable presence in the first two Deadpool movies, does not appear in Deadpool & Wolverine. While we don’t know a specific reason why, the actor was surrounded by controversy prior to the release of Deadpool 2.

It began with a 2017 sexual assault accusation, which he denied vehemently. The accusation was made during the final months of filming for Deadpool 2, and while Miller wasn’t removed from the production, he exited the sequel to How To Train Your Dragon.

The next year, Miller was arrested on charges of making a fake bomb threat at a New York Amtrak station. Those charges were eventually dropped. In as later statement, Miller attributed the incident to a manic episode.

In a 2022 appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, he claimed Ryan Reynolds hated him and called him “an insecure dude,” stating he would not work with him again. Miller claimed that Reynolds was “horrifically mean” to him and had requested additional takes specifically to insult his character.

Shortly after the Adam Carolla Show appearance, Miller said that he had reconciled with Reynolds, calling the incident a misunderstanding. Since then, Miller has appeared in the Netflix series F is for Family and a series of stand-up specials recorded for his YouTube channel.

Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in their first MCU outing, is in theaters July 26. In the meantime, find out if Deadpool can beat Wolverine and our ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.