In a satirical video posted in advance of the latest trailer for the film Detective Pikachu, Ryan Reynolds described the lengths he went to for the role he calls “a privilege he doesn’t take lightly.”
In the “Outside the Actors Studio” video, Reynolds describes how he went full method to portray the small, yellow Pikachu. He lived it, breathed it, became the character by immersing himself in the world of Pokémon. He not only read up on Pikachu, but also lived at his height and tried to match his weight until doctors stepped in and halted the over 180-pound weight loss.
His commitment to the character was so great that when he learned he had received the role he ditched his kids at their school because Detective Pikachu has no children, they’re strangers to the Pokémon. This may seem a little over the top, but as Reynolds points out while his kids may not see him again, they will see Detective Pikachu on the screen (his wife disagrees saying “we’re not going”).
Does all this effort pay off? As his wife Blake Lively points out, “I mean, he didn’t even change his voice. It just sounds like him.”
Detective Pikachu is a mixed live action/animated film. Ryan Reynolds does the voice and facial motion capture of the title character. Judge for yourself how well he pulls off the furry little guy when Detective Pikachu premieres on May 10.
