Ryan Reynolds tells Abu Dhabi the moving Wrexham story at LIVEX 2026: 'That's your son'

When Ryan Reynolds first arrived in Wrexham, the director of what would become his hit documentary series was sure the Welsh town had nothing to offer on camera. It took a vicar and an exorcism to change his mind.

Reynolds shared the story in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday at the inaugural Livability and Investment Exhibition at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi. He was speaking with Tyler Brûlé, Editorial Director and Chairman of Monocle, in a session on culture, tourism and the cities people come back to.

'Maybe there's stories here'

Reynolds recalled standing with the director outside a centuries-old church at the top of a hill in the town. Even then, the director was insisting there were no stories there.

The vicar who ran the church then excused himself. "And the vicar's off and he goes, yeah, just off to an exorcism," Reynolds said. "I'm like, the guy's going to go remove a demon from a child. Maybe there's stories here."

"That was the moment it changed," he added. "It just took one thing to kind of get a foothold in."

A father, a son and a last-minute winner

Now, Reynolds said, residents approach the team with stories of their own.

One stayed with him in particular. In his first year in the town, he met a boy who went to every Wrexham match with his father. By the end of last year, the boy had died in an accident, and his heart was donated to a man in urgent need of a transplant.

The recipient later contacted the boy's father, and the two went to a Wrexham game together. The club won in the final minute. Reynolds said the man grabbed the father's hand, pressed it to his chest and told him: "That's your son."

"I couldn't believe that we had been privileged to stand there in that town and tell these stories," Reynolds said. "We take it more seriously than what goes on in the football field. We know storytelling. And that's what we're there for."

Listening before building

Brûlé asked whether he had foreseen any of it. Reynolds said no.

"I think you're being disingenuous when people say, oh, I immediately recognised the playing field, and I know exactly what to do," he said.

The approach in Wrexham, he explained, was to listen and let things grow organically. As residents began to feel seen, visitors followed from across the world. A town that lost much of its coal and steel industry now has a pride Reynolds described as contagious.

"Trying, failing, learning, growing," he said, when asked how the club keeps pace with its own rise.

The next focus is the local university. "If you look at a lot of towns that grew exponentially, it started with the universities," Reynolds said. He explained that graduates stay on where the cost of living is low, and bring art and culture with them.

Brûlé argued that this kind of character can't be manufactured. Cities with odd staircases and streets that don't work perfectly, he said, leave room for surprise.

"You cannot lose, I think, the authenticity of what the place has," he said.

No plans for politics

To close the session, Brûlé put a string of possible careers to Reynolds, from UN Secretary General to "Mayor of the City, Premier of the Province, Prime Minister of the Country".

"I would like to stay married," Reynolds replied.

He admitted that when he meets world leaders, he often leans over during a quiet drink and asks why they chose the job. The good ones, he said, talk about service. "It's not just themselves," he added.

He was quick to praise Canada's leader. "Mark Carney is phenomenal."

Brûlé wrapped up on a friendly note. "We're proud of you as well," he told Reynolds.

The actor already has ties to the capital. In 2024, he was named Yas Island Abu Dhabi's Chief Island Officer and has since appeared in promotional campaigns for the destination.

What is Wrexham?

Wrexham is in north-east Wales, close to the English border. It traded its market town title for city status in 2022, although locals, and Reynolds himself, still often call it a town.

Its football club, Wrexham AFC, was founded in 1864. That makes it the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional football team in the world. The club plays at the Racecourse Ground, the world's oldest international football stadium still in use, which hosted Wales' first home match in 1877.

For years, the club's history was stronger than its results. It spent 15 seasons outside the Football League, in the fifth-tier National League, from 2008/09 onwards. Then, on February 9, 2021, Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney bought the club. McElhenney, the creator of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, now goes by Rob Mac.

The whole journey has been filmed for the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, which follows the club, its fans and the city. FX has renewed the show through its eighth season, which is likely to air in 2029.