How Wrexham have aged Ryan Reynolds & made him ‘90 per cent ulcers’ – with Hollywood superstar reflecting on documentary & promotion success

The Deadpool actor, alongside fellow co-chairman Rob McElhenney, took on an unlikely sporting project in 2021. Few knew what to expect at that stage, but the Red Dragons have enjoyed riding an emotional rollercoaster that has ended a 15-year exile in the National League and carried them back to the third tier of English football.

Reynolds and McElhenney have made that rise possible, with the Welcome to Wrexham cameras documenting their every move on and off the field. Success is being warmly embraced, but stress levels are way up on where two football ownership novices expected to be when taking the most surprising of plunges.

Reynolds - who has been a regular at games down the years, with famous friends often brought along for the ride – has told Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE YouTube channel when asked if a documentary series was always part of the plan and how he has found life under a different kind of spotlight: “The documentary was always part of the business model, just to help grow the club in a way that could be sustainable and happen at a pace that makes sense. But the thing is it has all happened so much faster that we ever imagined. Being promoted two years in a row is an amazing thing, but it’s also the reason that I’m 90 per cent ulcers.”

When ex-Manchester United and England defender Ferdinand suggested that he will be a lot greyer, with potentially less hair altogether in a few years' time, Reynolds added: “This is mostly hair dye and a tonne of plastic surgery. I’m literally 18 years old. This is an 18-year-old!”

Wrexham are currently readying themselves for another tour of North America, as they prepare for life in League One. After taking in trips to the west coast and Canada, Phil Parkinson’s side will return to Wales ahead of a 2024-25 season opener against Wycombe on August 10.