Channing Tatum says he'll 'owe' Ryan Reynolds 'probably forever' in sweet post
Channing Tatum penned an emotional thank-you note to Ryan Reynolds on Instagram on Monday night, expressing gratitude for the "Deadpool & Wolverine" actor.
Tatum said "there is almost no one that has had my back in this industry more than Ryan" and that Tatum "will owe him probably forever."
Accompanying the post were two pictures of the stars standing side-by-side 10 years apart, both times at San Diego Comic-Con.
Tatum then thanked Reynolds for his cameo in the new film, bringing to life his role as Gambit, the card-throwing "X-Men" character, which Tatum has been attempting to bring to the big screen for several years.
"I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But he fought for me and Gambit. I will owe him probably forever," he wrote. "Cause I'm not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya buddy."
The "Fly Me to the Moon" star wrote about seeing the first iteration of "Deadpool" years ago.
"I sat in the audience when Ryan showed his first peek of Deadpool 1 to the world and I think I ran backstage right after and found him and I think I just hugged him," Tatum wrote, referencing 2016's "Deadpool," in which Reynolds first played Wade Wilson.
Tatum said Reynolds had been an advocate for him over the last decade.
"I didn't know him really at all back then. But since then I can say that there is almost no one that has had my back in this industry more than Ryan," he wrote.
Tatum also showed love for director Shawn Levy, calling him "truly such a brilliant creator on every single level."
Tatum concluded his post with a message of gratitude. "All things happen for a reason," he wrote. "I'm so grateful to be in this movie. It's a masterpiece in my opinion."
Reynolds responded to the post on his Instagram story, calling Tatum "a once in a generation talent" and a "genuinely good man."
Reynolds also acknowledged Tatum's efforts to make Gambit a reality.
"I know what it feels like to will a character into existence. Chan did that," he wrote, adding that Tatum's portrayal of Gambit "put the most vivid version of that character on the screen like he was born to play this one guy."
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