Ryan Reynolds isnt just a beloved Canadian actor with a penchant for humour of the quick-wit and sarcastic variety, hes also been named one of Fast Companys Most Creative People in Business for 2020. The man can act and sell gin, it would seem (to the chagrin of Hugh Jackmans coffee company, we imagine).

But, all jokes aside, he also isnt afraid to participate in the tough conversations around racial equality that are (rightly) taking over the zeitgeist in 2020. A point which became abundantly clear when he sat down with Fast Company to talk about Deadpool, marketing, diversity and, notably, he and Blake Livelys regret over their plantation wedding.

For those who need a refresher, Reynolds and Lively tied the knot in 2012 at Boone Hall, an antebellum-era plantation in South Carolina, which describes itself as one of Americas oldest working plantations. Later, in 2018, Reynolds came under fire on Twitter after praising the movie, Black Panther. The post, which quickly went viral, had fans pointing out the actors perceived hypocrisy, as well as a lack of judgement exercised in the selection of their wedding venue.

Speaking with Fast Company, Reynolds addressed the controversy head on. Its something well always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for. Its impossible to reconcile, he said. What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest. What we saw after was a place built upon devastating tragedy.

Reynolds continued on to explain that, years later, he and Lively got married again at home, but it didnt excuse or dismiss their past complicity. Shame works in weird ways. A giant fking mistake like that can either cause you to shut down or it can reframe things and move you into action. It doesnt mean you wont f up again. But re-patterning and challenging lifelong social conditioning is a job that doesnt end.

Reynolds and Lively have been vocal throughout the Black Lives Matter movement, each taking to their respective social media platforms to support the cause. Theyve also acknowledged the shame they feel for, in the past, allowing themselves to be uninformed about how deeply rooted systemic racism is.

Last year, the couple each donated $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Young Center for Immigrant Childrens Rights. In late May, Reynolds and Lively contributed once again, this time donating another $200,0000 to the Defense Fund.

In the interview, Reynolds also spoke candidly about the need for diversity in Hollywood, explaining that representation and diversity need to be completely immersive. Continuing on he noted, It needs to be embedded at the root of storytelling, and thats in both marketing and Hollywood. When you add perspective and insight that isnt your own, you grow. And you grow your company, too.

This inspired the Deadpool actor to create the Group Effort Initiative, which aims to bring people of colour and other marginalized or otherwise underrepresented groups to work alongside experienced professionals on his next movie. In a video shared to social media, Reynolds explained that the film industry has systematically excluded Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and a whole host of other marginalized communities for far too long.

Reynoldss next film, a sci-fi comedy titled Free Guy is set to release in December. In the movie, the actor will star as a minor video-game character who starts to think for himself a role which Reynolds insists shows vulnerability you dont often see from big screen heroes.

Read the original:

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively 'deeply regret' their plantation wedding - The Loop