Ryan Reynolds has revealed how ‘gentleman’ Hugh Jackman inspired his work ethic when he was an ‘impressionable’ young actor. 

The Deapool star worked with the Australian actor for the first time 16 years ago on the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine when he was 32 years old. 

Now 48, Ryan has praised his best friend for setting a good example in Hollywood as he surprised Hugh on stage at his show at Radio City Music Hall, New York, on Friday.

‘What I saw was just about the best thing anyone could possibly experience if you’re working your way up in the industry,’ Ryan said of his time on the film according to People. 

Wrapping up his heartfelt speech, Ryan added: ‘But I wanted to actually just say, I love this man, I care about this man. He is, he is genuinely the best human being I know. And I have 4 children!’ Hugh, 56, shouted back an ‘I love you’ at his pal. 

The exchange comes as both Ryan and Hugh’s reputations as Hollywood’s nicest guys are under threat, amid their respective It Ends With Us legal battle and affair rumours. 

Ryan Reynolds revealed how ‘gentleman’ Hugh Jackman inspired his work ethic when he was an ‘impressionable’ young actor as he surprised him on stage in NYC on Friday

Ryan, 48, praised his best friend for setting a good example in Hollywood as he surprised Hugh on stage at his show at Radio City Music Hall

Taking to the stage to surprise Hugh, Ryan said: ‘This was the first major movie star I ever worked with, 16 or 17 years ago on X-Men Origins: Wolverine. 

‘And I was young still. I was impressionable. I was expecting going to this movie set with this guy right here, and I didn’t know, I really didn’t know what was gonna happen… But what I saw was just about the best thing anyone could possibly experience if you’re working your way up in the industry.’

He continued: ‘I saw a movie star, a capital M movie star… I saw this gentleman right here walk around that set, and just like here, he knew every single person’s name, even though he was making them up half the time.

‘He showed a kind of courtesy and gentleness and curiosity, and he put value into every single crew member that we were working with.’

He went on to call Hugh his ‘gotcha for life’, before adding: ‘And I know we were supposed to finish this bit where these two security gentlemen come and they try to take the mic for me — it’s like a struggle, and then they tase me and I go down, and then they hog-tie me and then they put me in the Radio City music garbage dump, and then they just light it on fire. 

‘But I wanted to actually just say, I love this man, I care about this man. He is, he is genuinely the best human being I know. And I have 4 children!’

‘I love you,’ Hugh shouted back at his friend. 

Ryan’s declaration of love for Hugh comes as he is embroiled in the ongoing legal battle surrounding his wife Blake Lively’s film It Ends With Us. 

Wrapping up his heartfelt speech, Ryan added: ‘But I wanted to actually just say, I love this man, I care about this man. He is, he is genuinely the best human being I know. And I have 4 children!’ Hugh, 56, shouted back an ‘I love you’ at his pal

The Deapool star worked with the Australian actor for the first time 16 years ago on the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine when he was 32 years old (Seen in August)

The exchange comes as both Ryan and Hugh’s reputations as Hollywood’s nicest guys are under threat, amid their respective It Ends With Us legal battle and affair rumours (Seen in July)

Last week a bombshell lawsuit saw him sued for defamation alongside wife Blake by the film’s director and star Justin Baldoni.

Justin, 40, and his publicists claim the actress, 37, cooked up a scheme to kill their careers and discredit them by making ‘false accusations of Sєxual harᴀssment’ – after she sued the actor before Christmas, claiming he Sєxually harᴀssed her and created a toxic work environment on the set of the film.

He has since launched a counter-suit, and while much of the focus has been on the allegations it makes against Blake, Justin has made a series of bombshell claims about the her husband – accusing Ryan of ‘swearing’, ‘berating him in an aggressive tirade’ and trying to interfere with the movie script.

Court papers accuse the A-list couple of using their combined star power to hijack It Ends With Us, while Justin also claims that Ryan contacted his talent agency to suggest they drop the director as a client on the grounds they were working with a ‘Sєxual predator’.

In response to the filing, Blake’s legal team furiously accused Justin and his production company Wayfarer Studios of using the ‘abuser playbook’ in his $400 million lawsuit.

‘They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni. The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer.’

While the response did not mention Ryan by name, the denial that he had anything to do with seizing creative control was clearly implied. 

It has been reported that Justin’s team have revealed plans to launch a website to bolster his accusations against Blake, and the saga shows no sign of being resolved any time soon. 

Last week a bombshell lawsuit saw him sued for defamation alongside wife Blake by the film’s director and star Justin Baldoni (Seen in August 2024)

Justin, 40, and his publicists claim the actress, 37, cooked up a scheme to kill their careers and discredit them by making ‘false accusations of Sєxual harᴀssment’ 

Meanwhile, Hugh has also been in the spotlight for less than favourable reasons after his secret romance with former The Music Man co-star Sutton Foster was exposed. 

The couple starred together in the Broadway revival from December 2021 until January 2023. 

The Wolverine star and his wife-of-27-years Deborra-Lee Furness then announced their shock separation later that year to ‘pursue our individual growth’, and co-parent two children.

Sutton later filed for an uncontested divorce from her husband Ted Griffin in October 2024. 

Hugh then finally confirmed he’s now dating Sutton, 46, amid rampant speculation about the timeline of their romance.

He was spotted kissing Sutton earlier this month for the first time since their relationship was exposed.

The pair looked deeply in love and couldn’t keep their hands off each other as they repeatedly kissed while in the car at a San Fernando In-N-Out.

Sutton was seen tenderly cradling Hugh’s face as they locked lips while waiting to order the fast food in the drive-thru line – and the pair were later seen holding hands on a date in Santa Monica.