Throwback Thursday: Did You Know? Ryan Reynolds Overcame His Claustrophobia For 'Buried'

It’s almost 14 years since the film was released but not many people know that Reynolds had to fight his claustrophobia for this movie. Yes, you read that right.

‘Buried’ revolves around Paul Conroy (played by Reynolds), an American truck driver working in Iraq. The movie follows Paul after he wakes up to find himself buried alive in a wooden coffin with only a lighter, a cell phone, and a few other items. As he struggles to understand how he got there, Paul receives calls from his captors demanding a ransom for his release. Desperately, he tries to contact his family, his employer, and the authorities for help. While filming for the movie, the actor had to get inside a coffin.

This wasn’t easy for Reynolds as he had claustrophobia. BuzzFeed quoted him saying, “For me, I was enclosed in there and had moments of utter panic that were soothed in various ways.” He mentioned that he used to get panic attacks while he was in the coffin. The actor continued, “One woman was playing all the roles when we were shooting. I had a microphone close to my chest, and she could hear my panic attack starting ‘cause she could hear my heart accelerating. There were times when I couldn’t get out of the coffin with any ease, so I just had to stay in there with 50-60 pounds of wood on your chest pressing down so you start to have moments of panic.”

This struggle paid off and the movie earned big bucks at the box office. On the work front, Reynolds will be next seen in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ which is set to release in cinemas this month.