LOS ANGELES — It's not exactly hyperbole to say that Ryan Reynolds is on fire.
While shooting The Change-Up in Atlanta, Reynolds reported to his first day of work to find his trailer fully ablaze.
"No one could explain it. Burned to the ground," says the actor. "The next thing they bring in is this other trailer, and it's so ostentatious. The only one they could find in Atlanta. It looks like Donald Trump's rolling fantasy mansion. It has an office upstairs. I don't know any actor who needs an office. It lasted six days before it flooded. And then they brought in some fantastic '70s trailer that was tiny. I was thrilled."
On Friday, Reynolds, 34, smokes up the screen when he switches lives with real-life pal Jason Bateman, 42, in The Change-Up. Reynolds' unemployed and unfettered player Mitch morphs into a tightly wound suburban dad, and Bateman's uptight married lawyer Dave parties with Olivia Wilde.
Both actors have been Mitch, to various degrees. "I'm glad I did it before there were camera phones," says Bateman, now married to Amanda Anka and the dad of Francesca, 4.
Adds Reynolds: "I did most of my dark work before I could get caught. I sort of feel bad for these kids in Hollywood who are going through this period and it's all so well documented. They don't grow out of it like we did."
And now? "I think I'm innately boring," says Reynolds. "I literally only watch Turner Classic Movies."
As for Bateman, "I get left alone quite nicely because I'm even more boring than he is."
Anything but boring
Some actors rely on agents to book their movie roles. Bateman and Reynolds take a less orthodox approach.
The two first met when Reynolds was a wide-eyed 19-year-old Hollywood newbie and Bateman was an industry veteran who at the time was better known for bar exploits than box-office triumphs.
The two stayed in touch, and Bateman continued "clocking" Reynolds, admiring his brand of sardonic, deadpan comedy. So through friends, Bateman would get the word out: "Tell Ryan I really want to work with him."
Reynolds' counteroffer: "Tell Jason I really want to sleep with his wife."
Bateman's response: "I'll let him sleep with my wife if he does a movie with me."
Was Bateman's better half, Amanda Anka, open to the arrangement?
"It was her idea," he says. "So she's pregnant."
Reynolds, who's Canadian: "Congratulations. She'll give birth to a dual citizen."
Bateman: "But we did get a movie out of it."
Change of pace
When Reynolds first got the script, he wasn't exactly smitten. "Another body-switching movie. How about: No. But I gave it a read. I was crying laughing in bed."
For Bateman, it was bracing to go from straight man to miscreant on screen. "I get to play the guy who does the misbehaving instead of the guy who reacts to the misbehaving. Literally as soon as I closed the script, I e-mailed the heads of the studio, which is not something I've ever done. Nor would I recommend it. It reeks of needy," he says. "But I wanted it so bad and was so happy it worked out."
Neither of them is hurting for work. Bateman had this summer's other R-rated comedy hit in Horrible Bosses, while Reynolds' Green Lantern has grossed $114 million domestically, despite less-than-kind reviews, and he has the thriller Safe House, opposite Denzel Washington, in the can. Bateman wants to direct; Reynolds aspires to work with Quentin Tarantino. Both men enjoy near-universal goodwill and good-guy reputations in their industry, and say they fully appreciate their work windfalls.
Of course, juicier roles usher in greater professional exposure. Bateman dives in.
"I'm a news junkie. I read every single review and all the comments. I like to know what's out there," says Bateman, who also tweets.
Reynolds has managed to live in a self-created bubble. He doesn't read tabloids and never addresses stories, fabricated or not, about his personal life.
"That's the thing I learned early on: No matter how preposterous it is, I don't say a word, ever. If you start doing it, you have to do it every time. I let it do its thing and watch it come and go," says Reynolds.
Both actors cultivate a low profile. They arrive early, and alone, for lunch at the Sunset Tower hotel. Over a salad of shrimp and quinoa, they quip, crack each other up and come across as decent guys who genuinely like each other.
Reynolds, says Bateman, was inspiring on the set.
"Ryan is No. 1 in this movie. It became very clear to anyone observing him what will and what won't be tolerated as far as behavior on the set," says Bateman. "Obviously he was going through something pretty tough at the time as well and would have been licensed to misbehave and not be nearly as pleasant to be around as he was."
The rough patch in question was Reynolds' quiet divorce from Scarlett Johansson.
"For the record, I never felt like No. 1 in any way. My life happened to be on fire at the time. It was a great set to work on," says Reynolds, showing Bateman some love for his observational skills. "He's good at getting people's numbers. I mean that figuratively. You just zero in on their thing."
Blast from the past
For Bateman, The Change-Up represented a chance to revisit his bachelor days — a past he's happy to have left behind.
"But it's still all right there where I can tap into and have fun with it — or at least play the version that I kind of hated partying next to when I was sngle," he says. "I knew I wanted to be a dad and I wanted to be a husband. I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything unturned that might flare up."
Reynolds has little in common with womanizer Mitch.
"I'm a single guy, but I have propensity towards relationships," he says. "When you're a single guy and you work in Hollywood, you see some crazy things. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some crazy nights in my day. But I'm also a little older now. I'm going to bed to Turner Classic Movies."
Interjects Bateman: "I'm in my pj's by 6:30."
Reynolds: "That sounds great, right? I'm a single guy and that sounds amazing."
Bateman: "If I'm done with my work and I come home and I know there's no reason for me to leave the house —"
Reynolds: "You're in your jim-jams."
Does Reynolds see himself pulling a Dave?
"One day," says Reynolds. "I love kids."
"Just not in the house," zings Bateman.
And scene.
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