Ryan Reynolds’ extraordinary gesture for Welsh family

A Wrexham business owner was overwhelmed when he received a message on Twitter from Ryan Reynolds, which led to an extraordinary gesture by the actor and his wife Blake Lively.

Rob Clarke, who runs Mad4Movies in Wrexham Butcher’s Market, was checking his social media when he spotted a message from the Wrexham AFC co-owner.

While he was amazed to receive a message from Ryan, he was even more amazed to discover why the film star was reaching out to him.

Posting on his Facebook page yesterday, Rob continued the story of what happened and how he had to check with his wife Carrie that it was real.

He wrote: “Just when you think things couldn’t get more surreal in this town of ours.

“I’m still figuring out Twitter, but last week I got an inbox off none other than Ryan Reynolds!

“I called Carrie over to double check it was actually him messaging me, it was, and he told me that he and Blake were having a clear out of their office and came across multiple dvd/blu ray copies of some of their films.

“He proceeded to tell me that they have signed every one of them and are sending them to me! Anyway, today they arrived – a box of over 100!!”

Rob continued to explain what he would be doing with the surprise shipment – and how it could help his eldest son Charlie, who lives with a blood disorder.

“Since they arrived, and with Ryans blessing, we have decided that we will use some to raise funds for ITP support, which is a condition our eldest son Charlie lives with,” he said.

“Once we figure out the finer details of how we will go about it, we will do a new post with the details. so if interested, keep your eyes peeled.”

Before the message from the acting star, Rob was overjoyed to discover that he had appeared in the credits for the forthcoming Welcome To Wrexham TV series, which airs later this month.

Rob had been filmed meeting the Wrexham co-owners when they visited his business late last year.

Then Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney met Rob, his wife Carrie and two children Charlie and Henry.

The passionate Wrexham fan set up the business in 2006 when he was made redundant from a job in IT.

The business has been run by Rob since its establishment in 2006.

Speaking to the Daily Post newspaper at the time Rob said: “It was great having them here. I was told the day before by producers that they ‘might pop in’.

“As soon as I found out there was a chance of them coming, I was pacing up and down thinking about it!”

He added: “I’ve had other famous faces in before like Stewart Lee, the comedian, but this was just on another level.

“They signed some DVD’s, including a ‘Green Lantern’ one which Ryan jokingly admitted ‘wasn’t his finest work’ – he wasn’t afraid to have a laugh at himself!

“The fact I have been a Wrexham fan since I was a very young lad, and experiencing the highs and lows over the years, so the visit just makes it all the more sweeter. Never for one minute though did I expect the main men though to pop in and chat about the club and movies.

“They’ve both had some great things to say about helping not only the football club but the people of Wrexham too. “Wrexham as a town gets knocked a lot, but the community spirit is incredible and having Ryan and Rob here has just given that a massive boost. It’s a great thing for us here.”