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Ghost Canyon

Ryan Reynolds   ('Blade: Trinity') Ryan Reynolds ('Blade: Trinity')
'Two Guys, A Girl ... and a s**tload of Vampires!'

Ryan is the youngest of four children. His father, Jim, was a Vancouver food wholesaler. His mother, Tammy, was a retail-store saleswoman. Between 1991-93, Ryan taped 'Fifteen' in Florida, a "cheesy" Nickleodeon series. After the series ended, he returned to Vancouver where he played in a series of forgettable TV movies.

He did catch roles in Glenn Close's 'Serving In Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story' (1995) and CBS's update of 'In Cold Blood' (1996). However, his run of luck had led him to decide to quit acting. One night, he ran into fellow Vancouver actor and native Chris Martin. Martin found Ryan rather despondent and told him to pack everything, they were going to head to L.A. In 1997, he landed the role in 'Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place'. The show became a minor success and has led to additional film roles such as 'Finders Fee,' 'Van Wilder' and the third in the 'Blade' trilogy, 'Trinity'.

As an apocalyptic event takes place that could shift the control of the planet Earth from the hands of humanity to the claws of vampires, the Daywalker, Blade (Snipes) is the only person who can turn the tide of the crisis against the undead blood suckers and prevent the world from becoming a "Planet of the Vampires". To make things a lot harder for Blade, the vampire leadership launches a public relations "smear campaign" against Blade, letting the world of humans know that he exists, so that the police start hunting him down, thinking he is some sort of horrible monster.

What was it like getting used to this character of 'Hannibal King' and bulking up for the role also? "You have to if you're going to commit to that you're going to have to find some way to make it bearable and enjoyable. I don't know how you can do that."

So, tell us more about all your training and weaponry? "I just had 30 guns on me at all times. That's how I worked out every day was just putting my wardrobe on. We had these electronic pistols, that have little cameras on them with little mini-CD's so they were first view of the movie. It watches what I just shot. For most guys it's porn, but for me it's this. We also had a 'beefeater' we called it. A huge Dirty Harry type of gun on my side. Remember, that old show, 'Sledgehammer'. It felt like that. I slept with it. I talked to it. It was under my pillow. I also had this phone jacket. It was gigantic. It was actually built in the late 19th century. It's a pump action shotgun that had 5 barrels. We ended up not using it."

Sounds like a mother of a weapon! "Just to just get it over my back I had to throw it over. It would just shake the whole place. I couldn't barely even get it off my back after the shot either! It was comical because in this line of everyone seriously shooting their little pistols and then picture this slow pan down of "What the f*** is that?" And we look down at this guy with this WWII cannon on his chest firing it. In the beginning of the movie I couldn't lift it. I couldn't swing it over my head. By the end, we had trained so much that I could."

When did you start your training for this movie? "We started training a month before shooting started and by 5 months in we were at our peak. I gained about 20 pounds! The funniest thing was that 'Muscle & Fitness' magazine was interviewing our trainer and they said they were really interested in Jessica, but we're not sure about me because of the ab implants! They thought it was a prosthetic on my stomach! 3-4 months after we finished shooting, I was in New Orleans shooting another movie, and my agent and I were having a bite to eat. He said, I can't believe how ripped you are. I pulled up my shirt and my gut flopped over. He just looked like he wanted to cry!"

Would you do it all again? "I had to do it all again because we did reshoots. Now I just keep it in the middle somewhere!"

What is your opinion on your Director David Goyer? "David had this unnatural resolve for someone who's directing a movie. This is the second movie he's directed. It was amazing to see how he knew just what he wanted. That's all you can ever ask of a director is a clear vision of exactly what he wanted out of each character, out of each set, out of each wardrobe change out of each emotional beat, and action. So it was great. I was pretty blown away."

And what are your thoughts on Wesley Snipes "Well, you know I was just saying there's a bit of 'Blade' in Wesley and a bit of Wesley in 'Blade'. And a smidge of 'Catwoman,' he laughs. "But he's kind of the character when he shows up on set. I just use it. I love it. I love the fact that you don't get anything from him. I mean as a person actor to actor. As 'Blade' the character you get all you ever need. I like that. My character's the perfect foil for him. I'm like the sarcastic vampire hunter. We're both vampire hunters, but we have two completely different styles. We're so polarized. It just helps so much every time that I would say something absolutely f**king ridiculous he'd just be looking at me with that stone look like he was going to turn me into a** pudding. So it was great. And it fuels all these great moments. There's even a moment in the movie where I look over to Jess and I'm like, "He hates me doesn't he?" And she's like, "Yes, he does." It's in the movie. It creates the dynamic. The dynamic created itself."

How much improv was there? "I would say there's a lot for an action movie. I mean, every day was, "Hey, try this" or "try that". I was making up stuff all the time to be honest!"

Did you ever crack Wesley up with any jokes?! "No. Never. Hopefully I'll see him today. Maybe there's hope? No, but not really. You know what, though? At the beginning of 'Blade' before we ever started shooting, we all went out for dinner and he was very sweet and very kind and very courteous and talkative and affable and all those things. Then he turns into 'Blade'!"

Would you want to do a sequel? "I don't know how you do it. I'm in the hands of David to do another 'Nightstalker'. You can't just do it in a whole bunch of different movies I think. Once you commit to doing it you have to sort of stick with the character. I don't want to do the universal film where I am doing the exact same character, just a slightly different story. I had the time of my life. Yes, I am actually jonesing to do another. I love a superhero that doesn't take himself so seriously, and is a little bit vulnerable."

Finally, what was the coolest thing you learnt on the set? "I got shown how to body slam a 350 pound man ... and it's actually just all centrifugal force. You just use the person's body. It actually wasn't in the movie. It was just something we were goofing around on outside. He came running at me, I think E! Entertainment was on the set filming it, and I just picked him up and slammed him on the ground, and walked away like it ain't no thing. It's just a talent that those guys have, to teach you how to do it. It's really wild. In the movie, he body slams me and it's one of the more disgusting things I have seen and shot in my life. It just looks like my vertebrae are turned into powder!"

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