The career of a Wrexham-born actor has been given a huge shot in the arm following a chance encounter with Ryan Reynolds.

Harrison Tipping was visiting his girlfriend in New York on Tuesday (December 17) when he spotted the Deadpool star walking past the window of a tea shop.

Inspired by the Wrexham AFC owner’s transformation of his hometown, the 25-year-old went outside to introduce himself.

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Reynolds quickly took an interest in Harrison’s story, which started at the age of nine when he began learning to act at a performing arts centre on Wrexham’s Caia Park estate.

He later attended the famous Stella Adler Studios in New York, where the likes of Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro were trained, and appeared in his first US feature film earlier this year.

Reynolds was so impressed by Harrison’s achievements that he shared a story on Instagram backing him to make it big in the acting world and even raised the prospect of working together.

Harrison described his encounter with the Hollywood A-lister as “very special” and praised his grounded personality.

He said: “I was in New York in a tea shop, and I looked out of the window when I saw Ryan Reynolds.

“It was just an opportunity that I couldn't pass up on, so I went out and introduced myself. He started talking to me about my career, and I told him about how I come from Wrexham.

“We were chatting for about 20 minutes, and he was very lovely. Not to sound weird or cheesy about it, but it felt like fate.

“He was with his wife, Blake Lively, and asked me for a photo together. He is such a down to earth guy - so pleasant, so personable, and interested in everyone around him.

“For him to then take the time to speak to me for as long as he did and chat to me about the work that I'd done was really special.”

The meeting happened shortly after Reynolds returned from a trip to Wrexham with actor Channing Tatum to watch his club in action against Cambridge United last weekend.

He later shared a story about his conversation with Harrison on Instagram, along with a photo of the pair together.

Reynolds said: “Met up with @tippingharrison, one of the best actors to come out of Wrexham since Channing Tatum.

“I love this fella's grit and heart and I hope I get to work with him someday. Not only is he from Wrexham, but he's also hugely talented.”

Harrison said seeing the post was the icing on the cake and left him feeling humbled.

He said: “For Ryan to endorse me on his Instagram to his 50 million followers goes to show you the kind of person he is.

“I wanted to let him know that he and Rob McElhenney have brought so much positivity to the city of Wrexham. Being a young actor from there, that's such an inspiration for someone like me.”

Harrison's interest in acting was sparked after he watched a theatre production at the William Aston Hall in Wrexham as a child, before learning his trade at the Delta Academy.

His passion really took off when he moved to New York at the age of 18 to attend the Stella Adler Studios, which he graduated from in 2022.

He has since appeared in a number of film and theatre productions, including Protocol-7, which was released in May.

Harrison has been living back in Wrexham for the last ten months and recently filmed a teaser trailer for a TV drama set in the city called Up the Town.

Discussing how the role came about, he said: “I was introduced to an actor called Dean Fagan, who lives in Wrexham. He was in Coronation Street, and he's recently been in Gladiator II.

“We were talking about wanting to make something about Wrexham and he said he wanted to make what's called a proof of concept, which is like a teaser trailer.

“We managed to get a friend of his involved, Ian Puleston-Davies, who’s a famous director and actor.

“They offered me a part, so we filmed that over three days in Wrexham back in September, and that's now in the process of being edited.”

The drama is focused on two screw-ups from Wrexham called Carl and Anthony, played by Harrison and Dean respectively.

Scripted by local writer Nate Reeves and produced by Ruby Snape, it explores how the pair try to escape a life of crime after noticing the changes taking place in their city.

It’s hoped the project will get off the ground over the next few months after piquing the interest of Ryan Reynolds.

Harrison said “The really special thing about that project is the fact that so many of the people involved in it are from Wrexham.

“That's exactly what I feel the whole point of Rob and Ryan’s journey is. I honestly think it's got a lot of potential.

“When I came back to Wrexham after everything which has gone on, you can really tell a difference in how people feel. I told Ryan about ‘Up the Town’ when I met him, and he said it sounded like a fantastic idea.”

Harrison previously received awards after writing and starring in a short film called ‘Stand To’.

Filmed near Wrexham, it aims to highlight cases of post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers and has been used to raise awareness by military mental health charity Head Up.

Harrison has endured his own difficulties in the last 12 months, but is now feeling positive about the future.

He said: “This year has been a hard year for me. I'm 25 and there's been a lot of uncertainty in a lot of realms of my life, but I've always been determined to be an actor.

“Meeting Ryan the other day and being able to chat to him about my life and my career really made me think that this can happen.”