With ‘Free Guy,’ Ryan Reynolds tries to throw a ‘fastball of joy’

“My default is pure trash, so this was something new for me,” Ryan Reynolds was saying. It’s 9 a.m. at Deadpool HQ, aka the New York home he shares with actress and wife Blake Lively and their three daughters.

Reynolds could be talking about anything, but in this case he was mulling over his wide-eyed character in the summer film “Free Guy,” about to hit multiplexes. His character is named Guy, and he wears a blue shirt, talks to his goldfish and is friendly to every single person he meets on the war-torn streets of his town. He doesn’t swear — or bemoan his fate.

He just smiles. “He’s like a 4-year-old adult, and there’s something really fun about exploring everything with new eyes and filtering it through the prism of comedy,” Reynolds, a 44-year-old native of Vancouver, said. “He’s always wide-eyed and looks at his world as a new place, which is refreshing, especially in these times.”

Turns out the real Ryan Reynolds shares some of those traits. His favorite movies are “Being There” and “Back to the Future.” He freely admits that he “bawled like a baby when Marty McFly came home.”

“I’m that guy looking for the happy ending,” he said.

In “Free Guy,” he plays a guy named NPC Guy who has a crush on a computer developer named Milly (Jodie Comer) and comes to learn that he is not alive but just a creation inside a video game. He’s just that “guy in a blue shirt.” Nothing more, nothing less. The catch: “Every time he spends a minute or two with Jodie’s character, his inner world grows and becomes more and more nuanced and dynamic.”

All that inner work in his own life is thanks to wife Blake and daughters,James, 6, Inez, 4, and Betty, 1.

Next up on the big screen is “Deadpool 3” and “Clue,” based on the Hasbro board game.

If your life played out in a loop like in this film what would it look like?

I have three kids, six and under. So it’s kind of like the same day a little. I wake up, get them ready for school, feed them, walk them to school, come home and try to go to the gym. Rinse and repeat. One day I’d like to put on a loop was my motorcycle ride from Sydney. There were some moments I could have on repeat for the rest of my life, like listening to music in my helmet flying through the Blue Mountains.

How did this fresh idea come to light in a world of cinema seemingly always based on something already existing, such as a comic book?

I read this script and then thought about (director) Shawn Levy. We had a couple of close calls in the past and almost worked together. I sent “Free Guy” to Shawn and the next thing I knew he was in my living room in New York. We worked on making the script relevant to the world now. But, yes, it’s hard to make a new movie. It’s hard to make something not based on something else or a comic book. What you have to do is, you get the new script to a place where you think it’s great and then you have to make it at least 30 percent better because you can’t rely on an existing fan base.

You’ve said that you want audiences to have a “Back to the Future” feeling from “Free Guy.”

It was a somewhat empyrean height to strive for, which was that feeling I got as a kid watching “Back to the Future” for the first time. I remember grinning ear to ear and just thinking that this movie took me to another place and left me feeling so happy, too. This movie has that kind of heart that makes you tear up, too. That’s also something I wanted so badly. The truth is, a lot of people are having a hard time in life right now. So the idea that we could make a movie that is just a fastball of joy was really important to me.

What would your personal avatar be in a video game?

I’d be a big, scary, muscular, 6-foot-3 bunny. It would put a little joy in everyone’s life. Who doesn’t love a big bunny?”

We hear you’re a maestro of the odd song addition to a film. True or false: You were the one responsible for the earworm addition of Mariah’s Carey’s “Fantasy” in this film?

In the earliest drafts of the movie, we had written in The Outfield’s “Your Love” as the main song. Believe me, it’s a great song, but it didn’t fit. Then I did suggest Mariah’s song “Fantasy,” which just fit like a glove. I’m a total fan. And, no, I can’t get it out of my head.

There is a poignant friendship between Guy and his security officer buddy, played by Lil Rel Howery. How did that develop onscreen?

Rel and I had these moments that lived on the page, and then others that were created in the moment. That was the case for every character in this movie. Everyone on the set was very good at building and rounding out their characters. As for the chemistry, Rel and I just clicked. It was great to get out there, mess around, play and put that bond up on the big screen. We hope to do it again in the form of a sequel.

Did you have a favorite video game as a kid?

I loved Mike Tyson’s “Punch Out” as a kid. I’d quote him saying, “Back in the fight. Back in the fight.” There were constant messy stabbing deaths all over my house.

What’s an ideal Sunday for your family if you’re not working?

Good food, great music, a lot of fun. If I have a little time to myself, I’ll go out and ride on my motorcycle, which is like meditation. On a bike, all you’re doing is breathing and listening to the engine and music. It really clears my head.