How Peter Sellers inspired a Ryan Reynolds character
Due to the omnipresent influence of the Marvel ecosystem within popular culture, Ryan Reynolds has become a global icon. Emerging as a vital part of contemporary meme trends, Reynolds’ rendition of Deadpool has had a definitive impact on the kind of humour incorporated by many modern mainstream projects. The actor’s approach to his craft is informed by an eclectic range of inspirations, including the work of Peter Sellers.
In 2021, Reynolds made another addition to his extensive filmography in the form of Free Guy. While video game movies have often failed to win over fans, Shawn Levy’s action comedy earned praise for its fresh take on the mythology of classics like The Matrix. It stars Reynolds as an NPC (non-playable character) in a video game who attempts to break out of his programmed reality after realising the horrible limitations of his existence.
From The Truman Show to Ready Player One, Free Guy has a lot of predecessors, but the performance that influenced Reynolds the most is actually a 1979 comedy-drama called Being There. Featuring Peter Sellers as a gardener named Chauncey, it charts the meteoric rise of an ignorant simpleton whose empty words are considered to be profound by everyone around him. A satirical take on the flawed structures of American meritocracy, Being There is Hal Ashby’s magnum opus.
During a press conference about Free Guy, Reynolds claimed that Sellers’ interpretation of innocence made him re-evaluate the emotional and philosophical constitution of an NPC. The actor said: “There’s a movie that I love called Being There, starring Peter Sellers. That was the first foothold I had into this character and this world. There’s something really wonderful about playing a character who’s kind of naive and innocent.”
While explaining the background of his own character, he added: “It’s even said in the movie, he’s a four-year-old adult. So there’s something really fun about exploring everything with new eyes, which is what this character gets to do, and sort of filtering that through the prism of comedy and occasionally cynicism, and all sorts of other things. I love playing a character who is sort of stepping out of the background into this kind of new person.”
Although Being There is not a part of the tradition shared by movies like The Matrix, it also contains a commentary on meta-realities. In one of the most stunning final scenes in the history of cinema, Sellers’ character walks across the surface of a lake, carried by the sheer momentum of his ignorance. Enigmatic and mysterious, it stays with audiences long after the film is over.
Watch the iconic scene below.
