Ryan Reynolds bares all in The Proposal

Filming a nude scene with an actress you’ve called a friend for nine years would naturally be all kinds of awkward. But given the way that Ryan Reynolds’ and pal Sandra Bullock’s naked bodies collide in their new rom-com The Proposal, it’s hard to imagine how these two could get any closer.

“I thought we knew each other until we did that. Now we really know each other,” joked Reynolds while in Toronto to promote the film.

Thankfully the two thesps braved ill-placed bruises and any sense of humility to produce one of the funniest scenes in the film. Indeed, the screwball nature of that, ahem, cheeky moment deftly permeates The Proposal, as it follows the story of put-upon assistant Andrew (Reynolds) and his shrew of a boss, the relentlessly demanding, icy Margaret played to the hilt by rom-com vet Bullock.

But things change in a flash when Margaret, a – gasp – Canadian, neglects to secure the right immigration papers and looks at her unsuspecting assistant as her ticket to citizenship through a sham marriage.

Developed by writer Peter Chiarelli with Reynolds in mind, the film nicely captures the actor’s winking charm – sweet-natured with a generous dose of sarcasm – and his character’s back story as a small-town gent from Alaska trying to make it in NYC proved a good fit for the Vancouver native.

“I don’t think you can do any character without seeing a little of yourself in it, even if you’re playing an axe murderer – or especially if you’re playing an axe murderer,” he deadpanned, referring to his role in The Amityville Horror remake. “The script was written by a guy that I was pretty close with and I think he got my voice in there and that made my job a lot easier.”

Of course his chosen profession, teeming with overbearing bosses and demanding studio execs, also proved to be a priceless resource from which to draw real-life experiences.

“I work in Hollywood and it’s never good to name names, but I’ve had some pretty intense bosses, you know. I’ve worked for some of the bigwigs and some of those bigwigs can be hard. You kind of have to grin and bear it…you go into a bit of survival mode.”

What's a little nudity amongst friends?

Luckily, surviving Bullock means a big payoff for audience members, who are not only treated to rock-hard bodies and slapstick hijinks but also genuine moments of out-and-out comedy – the result of almost a decade of friendship.

“It’s one of the most valuable things I possess – our shorthand. Same with [Sandra]. You just dispense all that awkwardness that you would normally have at the beginning of the movie. And we play people that have known each other for years as well. So it helped us immensely.”

Of course, at least a hint of trepidation remained during the soon-to-be-legendary nude collision and given that both actors are not only friends but also married - to Jesse James and Scarlett Johansson respectively - a few jitters were to be expected.

“The nude scene was certainly something that played a bit as the elephant in the room while we started shooting," he said. "We knew we had this huge thing to look forward to, unfortunately. It was definitely an odd situation spending two days with your buddy – nude, onset. And you couple that with stunts and lo and behold, you have a hysterical scene that’s intensely difficult to shoot.”

With a strong supporting cast that includes Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Malin Akerman and the legendary Betty White, everyone was up to bringing the funny, which meant mutual trust and, in some cases, throwing away the script in favour of improvising.

“Anne Fletcher is a brilliant director and she’s amazing with actors. Obviously, a lot of directors don’t put that kind of faith in their actors, but Sandra’s a legend and she’s so capable, she doesn’t need a script at all. It was incredible to shoot, so funny.”

Reynolds also expressed his respect and admiration for the spirited and razor-sharp former Golden Girl whose speedy wit certainly belies her age.

"Betty was incredible, she's such a hysterical woman. For someone who's 87 you can't even believe that she can be that sharp. I mean, she's on it. That woman has this ability for timing and this uncanny knack for dropping a well-placed, politically-incorrect zinger at just the right time like no one else."

Though he's hesitant to talk much about his upcoming X-Men spinoff Deadpool, despite obvious fan interest, he did confirm that it's in development and he's excited about taking part in the series.

Transitioning from the "Merc with a mouth" in certified super-hero phenomenon Wolverine, to a supporting role in coming-of-age comedy Adventureland and now co-starring in The Proposal, it seems Reynolds has tackled all the big genres - except one.

"I think I'd like to express myself in the exciting medium of dance.”

The Proposal opens June 19 in Cineplex Theatres.

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Check out the trailer and hilarious outtakes here and watch our video interview with the Canuck cutie here!