Ryan Reynolds Is Such a Fan of Conan O’Brien That He May Have Pushed Jay Leno Down That Pennsylvania Hill

Ryan Reynolds has played Deadpool, Green Lantern and one of two guys who worked at a pizza place, whose name nobody re. But his greatest role may be as Conan O’Brien’s private vigilante.

Reynolds recently guested on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and after a long chat about the actor’s career, current North American trade tensions and, oddly, Dan Aykroyd’s history with cocaine and UFOs, Conan attempted to wrap up the show. “Ryan, you are one of my favorites,” the host began. “I say that at the end of every podcast. Sometimes I’m talking to absolute criminals in jail. And I say, ‘You’re one of my favorite people. And I believe you’re innocent of those 19 murders. Which you had confessed to.”

“Jay Leno fell!” Reynolds interjected, referring to Leno’s famous so-called “accident” from last year. “We were all looking for the Hampton Inn. Who doesn’t look for a Hampton Inn when you’re a millionaire?” 

“You pushed him down that hill!” Conan, who’s always willing to “yes and…” a joke, replied.

While guests don’t typically mention Leno’s name on Conan’s podcast, owing to their bitter Tonight Show feud back in 2010, clearly Reynolds and O’Brien seem to get along really well. And they’ve known each other for years, as evidenced by the time Reynolds body-shamed Tom Arnold on Late Night.

So even though the podcast was coming to an end, Reynolds was comfortable enough to slip in yet another reference to the injury-prone former late-night host while heaping praise on O’Brien. “You are an idol of mine. You are somebody who I have watched and, dare I say at the risk of overpraising, look up to,” Reynolds stated. “And I always have and always will. Because you’re kind, you have integrity — and, that doesn’t mean it costs you subversive comedy or any of those things. All that edge is there. And it is a high bar you set. You always have. And, and that’s why I did the Jay Leno thing. I just fucking snapped.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” O’Brien joked. “I forget everything before 2010. It’s all gone.”

“But you didn’t forget my wire numbers,” Reynolds added. “The ol’ Cayman Islands.” 

Obviously, Reynolds isn’t the first person to make a joke about O’Brien somehow being responsible for Leno’s bizarre fall. But he’s seemingly the first person to do it to Conan’s face in a public setting.

And I couldn’t help but notice that Conan technically didn’t deny anything.