Ryan Reynolds confesses he leaked ‘Deadpool’ test footage:'Grateful that I did the wrong thing'

Ryan Reynolds has finally come clean about one of Hollywood’s most talked-about leaks. The ‘Free Guy’ star admitted at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) that he was the one who secretly leaked the ‘Deadpool’ test footage in 2014—a move that ended up changing his career and the superhero genre.For years, Reynolds had dodged the question, joking about it in interviews and teasing fans on social media. But on Friday, while speaking with moderator Anita Lee at TIFF, the actor confessed, “Yes, I cheated a little, but I think I was onto something that people would be interested in. And I’m grateful that I listened to that instinct, and I’m grateful that I did the wrong thing at that moment.”

Reynolds opens up on the leak

Reynolds explained that filmmaker Tim Miller had created CGI test footage back in 2012, with Reynolds voicing ‘Deadpool.’

But the studio wasn’t convinced. “The studio just didn’t want anything to do with it,” he said. “Deadpool was seen as too risky—R-rated, edgy, and not really mainstream. But I loved him. I was obsessed with the idea.”When the footage leaked online in 2014, fans went wild. Within 24 hours, 20th Century Fox gave Deadpool the green light. Reynolds finally admitted it was him: “Some a**hole leaks it online, and I’m like, looking at the guy in the mirror brushing my teeth…” ‘Dude, what have you done?’ But the internet forced the studio to say, “We’re going to make this movie.”

The impact of the “wrong thing”

‘Deadpool’ went on to make over $780 million worldwide on a $58 million budget, breaking records for R-rated films at the time. Its success spawned ‘Deadpool 2’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ the latter now holding the title of highest-grossing R-rated film ever.But for years, Reynolds only hinted at his involvement. In a Vanity Fair lie detector interview, he teased, “I might have provided an assist. I was Scottie Pippen.

Someone else got the credit.”

A playful detective act

Even after Deadpool’s success, Reynolds continued joking about the mystery. On the “leak-iversary” in 2018, he wrote on X, “Still searching for the bastard who leaked our test footage… Taking over the investigation myself.” In 2019, he even posted a fake detective board with “suspects” connected by red yarn.