Ryan Reynolds may be a superhero star today, following his acclaimed performance as Deadpool in this year's R-rated blockbuster, but things weren't always going so well for the actor.

He said in a new episode of Variety's Actors on Actors that he struggled to find work after portraying Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in 2011's poorly received Green Lantern.

"I represented the death of the superhero for a while," Reynolds said in the back-and-forth conversation with Empire star Taraji P. Henson. "After Green Lantern, I was pretty much unhirable."

While Green Lantern might not have been a great fit for Reynolds, Wade Wilson/Deadpool was a stronger match.

"Deadpool was one of those things that was just so specific--it was like this weird superhero anarchy that I loved so much," he said. "I think I was in the superhero suit more in the marketing materials than I was in the actual film. Which is why I stole the suit at the end of production and just brought it home with me."

Bringing Deadpool to theaters was something of a labor of love for Reynolds. He had been working on the project for 11 years before it finally came out in February, he said in the interview.

Reynolds will play Deadpool again in the upcoming sequel. The original's director, Tim Miller, dropped out of the film (and moved on to the Sonic movie) reportedly due to "creative differences" with Reynolds. The actor praised Miller for his work in helping Deadpool come to theaters, saying no one worked harder than he did to make the movie a reality.

Deadpool 2 will be directed by John Wick's David Leitch.