Watch Taraji P. Henson & Ryan Reynolds Make Fun Of Themselves

In a new interview series called Actors on Actors, Variety brought together two of our favorites for an unlikely pairing. Taraji P. Henson and Ryan Reynolds connected about their respective experiences in Hollywood. Technically, the two A-listers reconnected — you might remember them appearing together in 2006’s Smokin' Aces. Reynolds and Henson shared a lot of laughs making fun of themselves. For example, Ryan is glad that he doesn’t have twins because it would have been too hard on his penis. And sometimes Taraji wears the same sweatpants two days in a row. They also bonded over failing math in high school. Ryan says that he was in remedial 10th grade math as a senior. The two spoke candidly about some of their professional setbacks as well. Discussing the failure of Green Lantern, Ryan shared in earnest that he felt like he represented the death of the superhero. The experience became a huge hurdle he had to jump to produce the highly successful Deadpool. Taraji explained that she struggled to rein in Cookie, her infamous Empire role, while playing a more reserved character, mathematical genius Katherine Johnson, in the upcoming film Hidden Figures. She also auditioned for the role of Olivia Pope, but agrees that no one can play that part like Kerry Washington. Ryan and Taraji have both been to auditions that ended terribly. Taraji once auditioned for a role in a full wetsuit-and-flippers combo. It did not go well. Pro tip: Don’t bring props to an audition. What's most refreshing is watching the duo shatter the unrealistic facade of unshakable confidence that celebrities can unintentionally embody. Taraji literally shivered with discomfort while admitting that she doesn’t like watching herself on screen. And Ryan said he’s worked on movies that he’s sure everyone regrets. I sure hope he’s not talking about National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, because it’s one of my favorite films. Check out the video, below.