Deadpool may not be an altruistic Marvel hero, but Ryan Reynolds “let go of getting paid” during the first movie for the greater good.

The project had been in the works for a decade after X-Men Origins’ bastardization of the character, but it wasn’t until test footage leaked that 20th Century Fox gave it the go-ahead.

So, it’s safe to assume that Deadpool is close to Reynolds’ heart – which is why he wanted to make sure the first movie was perfect.

That’s why, according to anew interviewwith The New York Times, Reynolds sacrificed some of his salary to keep writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on set.

“No part of me was thinking when Deadpool was finally greenlit that this would be a success,” he explained.

“I even let go of getting paid to do the movie just to put it back on the screen: They wouldn’t allow my co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on set, so I took the little salary I had left and paid them to be on set with me so we could form a de facto writers room.”

“It really fostered focusing on character over spectacle, which is a little harder to execute in a comic-book movie. I was just so invested in every micro-detail of it and I hadn’t felt like that in a long, long time. I remembered wanting to feel that more – not just on Deadpool, but on anything.”

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Cameron Frew is Deputy TV & Movies Editor on Dexerto’s UK team. He’s an action movie aficionado, ’80s obsessive, and Oscars enthusiast. He loves Invincible, but he’s also a fan of The Boys, the MCU, The Chosen, and much more. He has previously written for LadBible, UniLad, and Flickering Myth. You can contact him at: cameron.frew@dexerto.com.