Ryan Reynolds may be an actor, an entrepreneur, Deadpool, and even a former Sexiest Man Alive—but he wants to make sure the world knows that, in his words, he’s also proudly Mr. [Blake] Lively.
Welcome to Wrexham—the show about Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s joint ownership of the Welch association football club Wrexham A.F.C.—won an impressive five awards at the 2024 Creative Arts Emmys. While Reynolds "wasn’t at Sunday’s ceremony" (cough, cough) Deadpool—Reynolds’ beloved Marvel character—made an appearance to accept the award (the look included his Deadpool mask and a suit and tie).
“Wow, Mr. Lively couldn’t be here to accept this broken Emmy, so he sent me on his behalf,” Reynolds said in a speech shared via Instagram (and per Us Weekly). “First and foremost, Wrexham, we love you. Thank you for letting Rob and the other guy tell your story. Cymru am byth [Wales forever], b—tches. I’d also like to thank the Academy for this honor and for not asking us to attend the televised awards show with the real celebrities.” (If you’re wondering what he means by “broken Emmy,” he appeared while holding Hugh Jackman’s broken Emmy in his hand. There’s a lot going on here.)
Reynolds continued referring to himself as “Mr. Lively,” a sweet nod to his wife, whom he has been married to since 2012 and with whom he shares four kids. Reynolds and Lively sneak in occasional sweet moments towards one another but are more known for playfully roasting one another on social media, which they do with aplomb.
At the Creative Arts Emmys, Welcome to Wrexham took home the Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program Award, as well as awards for Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program, Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera), and Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program.
“Wow, an Emmy—what an incredible honor,” McElhenney said during his part of the virtual acceptance speech. “There are so many people to thank. I have been waiting for this moment for 16 years, so I’ve got a lot to say.”
And McElhenney got to say exactly none of it, as he was then interrupted by Reynolds in his Deadpool mask.
Welcome to Wrexham premiered in 2022, about two years after Reynolds and McElhenney bought the team in 2020. The show chronicles the team’s trials and tribulations as a low-level soccer team in Wales and its rise all the way up to (spoiler alert) the club’s promotion to the English Football League (a big deal) for the first time in 15 years. “Rob and I kind of blacked out during this moment, but somehow we’ll never forget it,” Reynolds—I mean Mr. Lively—said on Instagram in April 2023 when Wrexham won the national league championship.
