Watch Ryan Reynolds Meet His Past Self in ‘The Adam Project’ - Anatomy of a Scene.

The central idea behind the Netflix sci-fi adventure “The Adam Project” is presented in this comical, yet tender, living room scene.

The 12-year-old Adam (Walker Scobell) is questioning a strange man (Ryan Reynolds) he has found in the shed behind his house. They have the same mannerisms, the man knows the kid’s dog’s name (Hawking) and they’re both wearing the same watch. Could it be they are past and future versions of each other?

“I wanted this scene to not only lay out the premise of the movie,” said the director Shawn Levy, “but to do so in a way that would essentially establish a pact with the audience as far as tone, that this movie would have a somewhat fluid, blended tone that vacillates between comedy and poignancy.”

In the sequence, Scobell must mimic Reynold’s mannerisms. Levy said it came easy for the young actor, who is making his screen debut.

“When we cast Walker, we knew we had found this revelation who had never done anything, and we knew the kid was smart and authentic and talented,” Levy said. “What we didn’t know is that he had been watching the ‘Deadpool’ movies since he was 7, so he shows up on set and he gets to co-star with his hero, whose rhythms and inflections he has literally ingested for half of his very young life. So we never needed to teach Walker how to say and do things the ‘Ryan Reynolds way.’ He already knew how.”

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