Ryan Reynolds paid heartfelt tribute to his late friend and mentor, Eric Gilliland, while accepting a screenwriting award for Deadpool & Wolverine at the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards, presented by Variety.
To note, Gilliland, a renowned TV writer and producer, died on September 1, 2024, at the age of 62 after battling cancer for years.
"I want to dedicate this very fine honor to a writer, to one of my closest friends, Mr. Eric Gilliland," Reynolds said to the crowd in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 14.
He went on to express "I wouldn't be standing here if not for that man."
The IF actor further recalled meeting Gilliland almost 30 years ago, "when I was a scrawny, desperately hungover 19-year-old kid."
"I didn't really know who I was yet. I was trying on personalities like they were shirts, and Eric liked me, and that made me like me," he added.
Reynolds also credited the writer for introducing him to comedy legends like Jack Benny and Buster Keaton.
"He modeled a way of being for me when I was probably at my most impressionable, and I think, to varying degrees of success, I have tried to live up to that impossible standard that Eric set. He was as good at being brilliantly funny as he was at being a friend and mentor,” he noted.
Eric Gilliland is known for his work on Roseanne.
