Yahoo Finance Gerard Butler Says He Doesn't Watch Ryan Reynolds' Movies: I 'Don't Know What Free Guy Is'
Gerard Butler isn't totally up to speed on Ryan Reynolds' latest movies.
During an interview with UNILAD, the Scottish actor, 51, responded to comparisons of his 2009 movie Gamer to Reynolds' recent action flick, Free Guy.
In Gamer, Butler plays a death-row inmate who participates in an online game in which outsiders can control the players.
"I was hoping it was of the time, that people would get it. I thought it was genius," he told UNILAD of the sci-fi movie. "It could have been executed slightly differently, but I really loved the commentary it was making on where the world was going, especially in gaming and sort of losing ourselves into that world, and technology and man bonding with machine."
He continued, "But, I didn't feel people really did get it at the time. It didn't do amazing business. It has become a bit of a cult classic, but I didn't know about this resurgence."
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As for its comparison to Free Guy, which stars Reynolds, 44, as a bank teller who soon discovers that he's actually a non-player character (NPC) in an open-world video game, Butler said he wasn't aware of the film.
"I actually don't know what Free Guy is," he said, as actress Alexis Louder (Butler's costar in the film, Copshop) informed him that it's Reynold's latest.
"Oh s— is it," he said. "I don't watch Ryan Reynolds movies."
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Free Guy was released in theaters last month following a year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and Reynolds has already teased a potential sequel. After its 45-day theatrical run, the movie will be available to stream on Disney+.
The film shattered expectations with a $28.4 million opening weekend, raking in $51 million worldwide, according to Deadline. The feat is particularly impressive, considering that the movie is not based on an existing IP — intellectual property — like so many other major blockbusters, a point that Disney championed.
Copshop, which also stars Frank Grillo, is now playing in theaters.
