It’s a fascinating trait of men that they so often show their love and affection for friends by doing the complete opposite of what you’d expect and dragging the hell out of each other. Hollywood actors take it a step further and have perfected the bromantic art of the fake feud. Matt Damon vs. Jimmy Kimmel, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie vs. Tom Holland, Dwayne Johnson vs. Kevin Hart and Ryan Reynolds vs. Hugh Jackman are all fake feuds that have become running gags between these actors, who are all close friends despite their protestations to the contrary.
During a recent interview with SiriusXM, Hugh Jackman confirmed that his “feud” with Ryan Reynolds, who recently made headlines for selling his Aviation Gin brand for $600 million, is alive and well. Jackman appeared on The Jess Cagle Show to talk about his Emmy-nominated work in HBO’s based-on-a-true-story dramedy Bad Education. Jackman portrayed Frank Tassone, the New York school superintendent who was involved in the biggest public school embezzlement scheme in U.S. history.
Naturally, the conversation turned to Ryan Reynolds and, equally naturally, Jackman had a great deal of fun dragging his good friend. First, he commended Reynolds’ wife, the actress Blake Lively, for putting up with Reynolds during quarantine. She recently celebrated a birthday and Jackman said he hoped she was enjoying a day away from her husband. “To think of what she’s had to put up with,” Jackman said. “Let’s just think COVID with Ryan. It’s amazing. I just hope more than anything that she is on her own with her friends just really enjoying her day.”
That led to him being asked what he’d get Ryan Reynolds for his birthday, and Jackman’s answer was on-brand and hilarious:
“The first thing that came to mind was a game we used to play as kids, did you ever play that game, we used to call it Ring and Run. Where you go knock on someone’s door and run away,” Jackman explained. “What’s that called here?…. Ding Dong Ditch. So of course my older brother took it to the next level and when you came to open the door there was a package that was on fire. The package was filled with various amounts of dog poo from the neighborhood. So you would stamp it out. That’s the first thing that came to mind. Something like that, Ding Dong Ditch. Just for fun.”
Eventually, talk came around to movies fans would love to see them do together. The interviewer brought up a bit of fancasting fun making the rounds on Reddit, which had fans suggesting a remake of Nicolas Cage/John Travolta ’90s camp action classic Face/Off as a potential vehicle for Reynolds and Jackman.
“I have not heard that,” Jackman replied. “Is it possible to shoot it where we are actually never together? Is that possible?”
You win this round, Jackman. You win this round.











