Actor Ryan Reynolds fulfils football fan's dying wish to watch ...

LONDON – Actor Ryan Reynolds, who co-owns football club Wrexham, fulfilled supporter Jay Fear’s dying wish to watch his team play.

He also got to meet Reynolds at the match between Wrexham and Boreham Wood last Saturday.

Reynolds, 46, said: “It was amazing to meet Jay. I wonder if I’d have the same unwavering joy if our roles were reversed.”

“He is an exceptional person and his family is wonderful. I got a little choked up talking to him and feeling how much his kids and wife are going to miss him,” he added. He shared photos of their meeting on Instagram on Sunday.

Mr Fear, 45, was diagnosed with terminal appendix cancer in January after getting the all-clear the year before. He was given just months to live.

His family, consisting of his wife and two teenage children, were whisked away from their home in Southampton to Wrexham to watch the team beat Boreham Wood 3-1. The historic win also earned Wrexham a return to the English Football League after 15 years.

Reynolds, who starred in two Deadpool movies in 2016 and 2018, gave Mr Fear a glove from the movies and invited him to the London set of the third instalment, which will start filming in six weeks.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live’s Sunday Breakfast, Mr Fear said: “They always say you should never meet your idol and this guy is definitely an exception to that.”

He had been a fan of the Canadian-American actor since his 2002 movie National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. He later became a Wrexham supporter after watching documentary Welcome To Wrexham (2022 to present), which follows the takeover of the struggling club by Reynolds and American actor Rob McElhenney.

Mr Fear’s son, Sam Fear, 16, credits social media for helping to spread the word of his dad’s dying wish, saying: “Seeing how many times it’s been shared is really amazing for our family. The power of social media is incredible.”

Mr Fear added: “People might think this whole thing was for me. Actually, this is for (my family) because they are the ones that are going to remember what happened for the rest of their lives.

“I just hope this is a core memory that they’ll never forget.”