Key Points
Ryan Reynolds reflected at TIFF on a tense shoot with Denzel Washington on 2012’s Safe House.
“He says two words to me the whole movie,” Reynolds said of Washington’s method approach.
Reynolds said his cell phone went off during a particularly emotional scene, which upset Washington.
Ryan Reynolds is known for making audiences laugh with his signature approach to comedy — but one person he says didn’t laugh at his (admittedly accidental) antics was his Safe House costar, Denzel Washington.
During a Friday afternoon conversation about his life and career at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, Reynolds reflected on making the 2012 thriller with the Oscar winner and director Daniel Espinosa, both of whom he said he angered when his cell phone went off during a particularly emotional take.
“I’m really, really scared, because he’s Denzel Washington, and I’m me!” Reynolds joked. “I’m terrified. The great thing is [my] character’s terrified, so it’s no problem.”
Reynolds remembered that shooting “the last scene of the movie, [Washington is] dying on the floor,” and that because he’s a method actor, “he says two words to me the whole movie” leading up to that scene.
Jasin Boland/Universal
Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in the 2012 film ‘Safe House’
Before filming the scene, Reynolds said Washington unexpectedly visited his trailer to rehearse. “It’s a powerful scene; he’s crying,” Reynolds remembered. “With this guy, with an emotional scene, you get it twice. You get it once, and then you get it twice. The second time, if you f— up, that’s on you, it’s not going to be on him, and he’s leaving, so you better get it!”
The Deadpool star said that the day cameras rolled, the atmosphere on set was “crazy” with “all these dead stunt guys” surrounding Washington in the scene. “He’s been shot, wounded, dying, admits all the stuff that he did wrong. Tears start rolling down his face.
“And suddenly you hear — and this is take two, by the way, because take one there was a technical problem — we hear [Frank Sinatra singing] ‘Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away,'” Reynolds added, singing the lyrics to what was his ringtone at the time.
“Dumb-dumb is sitting on his phone,” Reynolds continued. “I’m dumb-dumb in this story. And I can feel everybody looking around like, what the f— is happening right now? I can see Denzel with a tear in his eye.”
He said Espinosa then asked, “Who the f—‘s phone is that?” while the assistant director repeated the sentiment.
“Finally, Denzel breaks character [and says], ‘Who the f—‘s phone is that?’ I stand up and look at all the stuntmen around me, and I go, ‘Who the f—‘s phone is that? Inexcusable!'” Reynolds reflected.
It was then that the assistant director realized it was Reynolds’ phone, and signaled for him to keep the ball rolling without taking the blame.
Universal Pictures
Ryan Reynolds stars as Matt Weston in the 2012 film ‘Safe House’
“He was like, ‘D, can you do another one?’ And [Washington] was like, ‘We’re going to have to, aren’t we?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, [because of] the stunt men!” Reynolds finished.
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Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for Washington for comment.
Despite the on-set mishap, Reynolds, who attended TIFF to world-premiere a new documentary he produced, John Candy: I Like Me, helped lead Safe House to a healthy global box office haul of $208 million on a smaller $85 million budget.
The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival runs through Sept. 14.
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