Ryan Reynolds: Cofounder, Maximum Effort; Chief Creative Officer, MNTN

Over the past decade, Ryan Reynolds has redefined how advertising, brands, and entertainment can be mixed and matched, all while making us laugh.

You’d think building a blockbuster superhero franchise would be enough. But with his company Maximum Effort, he’s lifted the profiles and fortunes of several companies. After Reynolds invested in Aviation Gin in 2018, the firm’s ad work for the brand—including a witty response to Peloton’s infamous 2019 holiday ad whipped up in a matter of days—helped double sales, leading to a $610 million acquisition by Diageo in 2020. After Reynolds bought a 25% stake in Mint Mobile in 2018 and starred in deliberately no-frills ads, the telecom upstart was acquired by T-Mobile this year for a reported $1.35 billion. He soon put all of these lessons together to buy (with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney) a fifth-tier Welsh soccer team and turn it into a hit on TV and on the pitch.

Here we spoke to Reynolds as part of Fast Company’s interview series with the 10 Most Innovative People of the Last 10 Years.