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On April 14, 2025, actor Ryan Reynolds posted a video on his Instagram account celebrating the 48th birthday of his friend Rob McElhenney, the co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C., a Football Club based in Wrexham, Wales.
The video was captioned:
"I’m submitting this to the International Film Festival of Wales, Short Films category. Happy birthday, @robmcelhenney."
In the clip, Ryan Reynolds wished Rob, stating, “Robert, happy birthday. My God, another year, another trip around the old Keith Moon, and God, so many highs and so many lows.”
He also mentioned McElhenney's cameo, which was initially intended for the new Deadpool & Wolverine film. His role was cut during post-production. Reynolds, as an apology and a gift for Rob’s birthday, incorporated many of McElhenney's moments from the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia into his older movies, with You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen playing in the background.
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“Now, to make up for that, for your birthday this year, we've inserted you into many of my other films, all of which are available at your local Blockbuster or wherever Laserdisc is sold,” Ryan Reynolds said.
Meanwhile, on 16th April, journalist Kjersti Flaa responded to Ryan Reynolds' birthday present to Rob McElhenney on her YouTube channel. Commenting on the video, she said:
"Who does that for someone’s birthday? It’s like happy birthday, here’s me and you in the background when I’m working or whatever, it’s so narcissistic.”
Kjersti criticized the video for being egocentric, arguing that Ryan was supposed to celebrate his friend's birthday, where his friend should have been the center of attention, not the numerous movies he has worked on.
A look at Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney birthday ritual
This is not the first time Ryan has humorously celebrated Rob’s birthday as this has almost become a tradition for them now. According to Empire, two years ago, Ryan Reynolds posted a fun song that made it easier and more entertaining to remember the pronunciation of “McElhenney”.
Empire also noted that last year, he took it a step further with a Titanic-style parody, featuring a drawing of Rob resembling Jack’s French girls. This year, Ryan continued the tradition and posted clips of Rob in his movies, including Free Guy, Blade Trinity, RIPD, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, Red Notice, Green Lantern, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
This year, Rob’s birthday coincided with a difficult time in his life since his comedy series, Mythic Quest, was discontinued by Apple TV+. Besdies, he faced additional setbacks, as reported by Cracked.
While Kjersti and other critics considered Ryan's birthday wish video of Rob to be narcissistic and egocentric, whether it is simply a lighthearted wish or an actual self-centered response is left to the audience's interpretation.
