Ryan Reynolds: Wrexham is the joy of my life and I've learned so much from it

Ryan Reynolds has opened up about his love for Wrexham after describing owning the club as "the joy of my life".

The Hollywood A-lister bought the north Wales outfit alongside fellow actor Rob McElhenney in February 2021.

The pair's multi-million pound investment has helped the club achieve successive promotions from the National League to League One.

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The two actors have also brought global attention to the area itself via the hit documentary Welcome to Wrexham.

Reynolds has now revealed just how emotionally invested he has become in the team and community at an event in Chicago hosted by former US president Barack Obama.

The Deadpool star made his comments while discussing how football can be a force for good in a turbulent political climate.

He told the Obama Foundation 2024 Democracy Forum: “Sports, music and movies are all experiences that require us to check our bulls**t at the door.

“We all get to feel the same thing for a minute in a world that's so tribal and we all get to root for the same thing.

“We take our hats off and whatever our tribal colours are, and we all get to feel something pretty special together.

“Wrexham has been the joy of my life, and it’s an ongoing joy. It is something that I've learned so much from.”

Reynolds and McElhenney welcomed new minority investors to the football club in October to boost their goal of improving the local area.

The Allyn family from New York joined after selling their medical device manufacturing company, Welch Allyn Inc, for more than $2bn in 2015.

The family has a strong track record of investing in philanthropic projects after being involved in several schemes aimed at transforming the city of Syracuse, New York.

Reynolds told last week's conference that he believes there are parallels to be drawn between Wrexham and the US post-industrial city.

He also admitted that changing how some Wrexham residents view where they live had been a major challenge.

He said: “Wrexham is like Scranton and a lot of towns in northern New York like Syracuse that have had a moment in time when they were boomtowns with coal and steel, and then fell on hard times.

“We went into this with the attitude that we don't know everything. We are not here to tell anyone how to play football - we are here to tell the story.

“Everything during the first year was (people asking) ‘why us?’ I remember one woman said to Rob and I that nothing good ever happens here, and nothing good will ever happen to me.

“It was very pervasive at the time, but the high tide raises all boats. You can centre storytelling around a community and do it in a way that's organic, where people feel reflected.”

Reynolds has played many roles in his acting career spanning more than three decades, and has also become involved in several business ventures in recent years.

As well as Wrexham, he holds stake in companies like Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile.

Now aged 48, he said that getting involved in running a football club is something he wouldn't have dared to do in his younger days due to a fear of failure.

Reynolds said: “I don't think I could have done this earlier than when I was 40. I embraced sucking and failing much more in my late 30s and 40s, and by doing that, it freed me up in the greatest possible way.

“Everyone has anxiety and that has always kept me within a safety lane and not really stepping out. But then it's like, just f***ing get over yourself.

“What Wrexham has really grown inside of me is the value and importance of emotional investment.

“If people can be galvanised through emotional investment and feel like they're a part of something, they will engage, and they will also tell their story.”

Expanding on football's power to unite people, Reynolds also revealed how he often takes a piece of Wrexham home with him after visiting north Wales.

He said: “We live in a very political world, where everything is divisive and I feel like connecting with people is very important.

“Wales is no different and where Wrexham is, there is a political divide between right wing and left wing.

“But when people walk into the Racecourse Ground, that stuff just goes away, and we're all enjoying and loving the moment. Every time I go there, I grab a piece of grass and shove it in my pocket.”