Ryan Reynolds and the cast of 'Free Guy' on their humble beginnings in Hollywood

Ryan Reynolds and the cast of Free Guy talk to Yahoo Entertainment about how they started out in the entertainment industry before they made it big. Reynolds reveals how invisible he felt early in his career, working odd jobs -- and how he still feels invisible a lot today as the father of three young girls.

Video Transcript

- I expected you just follow the rules but you are so much more than that. Put these on.

- OK, fine I-- Oh my god! What are these? Trick glasses or something?

INTERVIEWER: For all you guys, what is the closest experience you've had to being blue shirt guy in real life entertainment business? Like, were you ever an extra or background player in anything popular starting off? Ryan, let's start with you.

RYAN REYNOLDS: Before I was in show business I drove a forklift I worked in restaurants I was a busboy I was a-- you know I was a waiter, I was a cashier, you know? And a lot-- I got a pretty close up experience of what it feels like to sometimes, you know, feel a little invisible in your job in particular.

And then once I got into show business, yeah when you're starting out for sure. You know, you have moments of invisibility and you have existential crises and, you know, you go through the first flow of jobs thinking, OK I have to have a backup plan for this because this is not sustainable. And then you know, some of us are very, very, very, very, lucky and fortunate to stay in the career and stay in this job. So yeah I've felt that lots of times.

I also have three kids at home so like I feel like that every day. Like I-- like my daughters will literally try to walk right through me.

JOE KEERY: Kind of like Ryan I was, you know, in the restaurant industry for a long, long time during school and in my early 20s and stuff. And yeah I did like an extra job where I had to be, I was just sitting at the bar in the background and there was a scene going on I had to just sit there and drink coffee. And you know, I think that all that is, I wasn't necessarily feeling invisible but just like always feeling like the experiences that you were having, I was always trying to work towards something. So I guess I can sort of relate to Guy in that way.

UTKARSH AMBUDKAR: My first job was for an MTV 2 ringtone and Timbaland was the star. I had to bring all my own wardrobe, which was like the one bag of clothes I had. It was the middle of winter Lower East Side, New York and we waited for Tim for seven hours. And then my, like, big reveal was I walk around the side of a van bopping to my music and everybody at home in Maryland was like, you made it! And it was like--

[LAUGHTER]

$500, that bag of clothes I left there. I was so excited to leave that I left all of my clothes at the shoot and never got them back. But, Oh no. It's only been downhill from there, so I'm really blessed and super lucky.

INTERVIEWER: Shawn, what's the director, producer version of being an extra? Production assistant, intern what would you say about your own journey?

SHAWN LEVY: It's all those things. But I remember, and I could name these names still-- all of us know when we're starting out-- I remember taking meetings right after I came out of film school with producers or agents and I remember sitting in their office so pumped up and wanting to make an impression. And feeling every minute that they didn't want to be there and that they were somehow pressured into this meeting. And they were checking their watch waiting for their time with me to be done. And I remember feeling so small and feeling so unimportant but I just used it all as fuel. It's all fuel and those producers who I won't name now, they ain't going to work with me. Because I will never forget who they were.

JODIE COMER: I think we can have a tendency to feel, like, a little bit lost. There's, like, a saying as well, I think, with acting which is that there's no such thing as small parts, just small actors, meaning everything is kind of about your perspective and your attitude towards what it is that you're doing. And I think that's what's so beautiful about Guy's realization in the film. Kind of, he really realizes his agency and his worth and his potential.

LIL REL HOWERY: Notice something like it's a couple of Guy's characteristics that I really enjoy, first of all, which matches my life, is when you take in the reality of what this business can be. Know what I mean? Like watching Guy figure out like, oh I'm not real, I don't know what this world is. Which is why I love the scene where he comes to my character Buddy. And Buddy's like, dude, this is beautiful to me. It's basically telling you like-- I think we kind of had like, we was doing this Twitter thing a minute ago was like-- you only get one life, right? So you kind of just got to enjoy it, and take it for what it is.

And then like also what I love about Guy is it's OK to be the good guy. Like, everybody thinks sometimes you got to do terrible stuff to make it, you got to do all this crazy stuff and like Guy was just a good guy. And it's OK to be good. Like, is fine. Good things can happen for you and it's good. It may not be perfect, which is what I love about him being a video game character, yeah he will get hit by a car and got to wake up in the morning the next day and figure it out. As long as you keep getting chances where you can wake up, it's OK to be a good guy. Just keep, just keep on trucking, you know?

INTERVIEWER: Rel, I must tell you, man, you relevate everything you're in. I'm glad Hollywood realized-- [LAUGHTER]

SHAWN LEVY: Relevate!

JODIE COMER: Relevate, that's amazing.

RYAN REYNOLDS: Did he say relevate?

JOE KEERY: That is a good word.

RYAN REYNOLDS: I'm in love with that. I'm never forgetting that. I love that.