Jake Gyllenhaal revealed that he feels Ryan Reynolds deserved an Oscar nomination for his work on Deadpool.
Some commentators had predicted that Deadpool could even land a Best Picture nod for this year’s Oscars after it picked up several nominations for the 2017 Golden Globes. However, when the 2017 Oscar nominations were announced this week (January 24), Deadpool was completely snubbed.
Speaking during a question and answer session following a screening of his film Nocturnal Animals on this week (January 24), Gyllenhaal commented; “We talk about brilliant performances all the time, you know, the actors who tear themselves apart for their roles, which I’m a believer in but then I look at Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool and I say, ‘No one can do that but him’. That is truly, purely him.”
20th Century Fox“As an artist he struggled for several years to figure that out and it’s all there on the screen. And it’s brilliant,” he continued.
“Sure it’s a comic book movie and it’s made a lot of money, but that doesn’t subtract from Ryan’s extraordinary work,” he added. “Because it’s him. I mean, let’s ask ourselves: What else do we want from people who create? Something that is truly them.”
Reynolds posted a good-natured and playful tweet after hearing of the film’s Oscar disappointment, which you can see below.
Regularly scheduled tickle-fight at Camp #Deadpool is still on. Congrats to all the nominees for these brilliant films. #Oscars2017
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) January 24, 2017
Meanwhile, La La Land is the leading contender for the 89th Academy Awards with a record-equalling 14 nominations.
This includes nominations in each of the big four categories: Best Picture, Best Director for Damian Chazelle, Best Actress for Emma Stone and Best Actor for Ryan Gosling. Only All About Eve and Titanic have racked up as many nominations in the past.
British and Irish stars Andrew Garfield, Dev Patel, Ruth Negga and Naomie Harris all picked up acting nominations too. However, the likes of Amy Adams, Aaron Taylor Johnson and Taraji P. Henson found themselves snubbed like Deadpool.
Jada Pinkett Smith has praised the diversity of this year’s Oscar nominations after a record six black actors were shortlisted. Meryl Streep reacted to her record 20th nomination by sharing a Paul McCartney-themed GIF.
Read more: The Oscars 2017: Everything you need to know