In one of the most difficult projects of his career, Ryan Reynolds passed out inside a coffin while filming Buried.

Comedy is an art that’s often left to professionals, because many times, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But when it does come to rely on someone to deliver the perfect punchlines and comic relief, there are only a few better in the film industry than Ryan Reynolds. In recent memories, his comical quips have become an iconic trait of his.

Ryan Reynolds

But this isn’t always the case where the star is seen throwing in some funny sentence to lighten the mood, in fact, when he was shooting for his film Buried, it was the complete opposite. Instead of hearing his smooth-talking jokes, the star was seen taking terrified breaths while in a coffin where he also passed out.

Ryan Reynolds Passed Out Of Terror And Lack Of Oxygen While Shooting For Buried

Ryan Reynolds in a still from Buried
Popularly known for his comic relief in most of the films he’s been in recent years, the most iconic being his portrayal of the motor-mouth mercenary Deadpool, straightforward horror films aren’t the kind of projects usually associated with Ryan Reynolds. But to everyone’s surprise, the star has been in one, which he describes as being one of the hardest things he has done in his life.

The star was basically the face of the 2010 horror drama film Buried, where what happened to him was what the film was titled, and he couldn’t keep himself conscious most of the time

In an interview with David Letterman on his show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction (via Insider), the Green Lantern star talked about his life and career in detail. Here, he also revealed that the aforementioned film was by far one of the hardest projects that he has ever taken on. Since he had to be confined to a very tight space for most of the shoot, he was on his last nerves all the time.

He also revealed that while most of the shoot was done in a single take, there had to be shots retaken because he was falling unconscious during some of them. He said:
“Almost everything you see in the movie was one take with the exception of a couple moments where I passed out. The thing I wasn’t ready for or realized when I was shooting is when you’re out of breath, and you’re not moving to accommodate the increased oxygen in your blood, you pass out.”
To ensure that he could go on without causing much psychological harm to himself, he had to take a paper bag and breathe into it to calm his nerves.

What Was Buried About?

A still from Buried
No ghosts, evil spirits, or demonic nuns, along with no jumpscares and the iconic final girl trope of traditional horror films, Buried is a film that is designed to terrify the audience with nothing but the primal fear of death and despair. The film tells the tale of an American civilian named Paul Conroy, who has been working in Iran as a truck driver.

One day, he finds himself waking up to nothing but darkness around him in a wooden coffin, where the only things he can find other than himself are a phone and a lighter. Recalling how he got here, he remembers terrorists kidnapping him, which is how he might’ve gotten here. Now, as he makes the call for rescue, he has to battle fear and absolute terror and wait for help that may not arrive in time.