Conventional Hollywood wisdom says you don't need to be friends to make a great buddy movie. Abbott and Costello famously stopped speaking yet kept making films. Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor never socialized off set. And Kim Cattrall's public feuds with her Sex and the City co-stars are as famous as her on-screen friendships. So it's easy to assume the camaraderie in Mayday, the new Apple TV+ action-comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, is pure craft. But spend five minutes with these two, and you'll realize that assumption is dead wrong.
Set during the final days of the Cold War, Mayday follows Nikolai (Branagh), a former KGB agent living like a hermit in rural Russia, obsessed with Top Gun on a bootleg VHS. When Troy (Reynolds), a cocky Navy pilot, crashes his plane in Nikolai's yard, the mismatched pair embarks on a wild, Midnight Run-style journey across the country. It's a warm, hilarious ride that subverts Cold War stereotypes, and the chemistry between the leads is electric. But according to Reynolds and Branagh, that spark isn't an act.
Meeting in a small conference room in New York, the pair immediately fall into a rhythm that feels like old friends. Branagh, ever the director, fusses over seating and pours tiny cups of sparkling water, while Reynolds jokes about IV drips. They finish each other's sentences, recalling their first encounter on set with the giddy energy of college roommates. Branagh remembers Reynolds launching into a sentence "as if we were just picking up the sentence from the last conversation that we must have had." Reynolds explains his trick: "I like to confuse my co-stars by beginning our first conversation, 'And furthermore.'" Branagh laughs, "And it worked."
That instant familiarity never faded. "I think people can tell that we love each other," Reynolds says. "When we met, it felt like we had known each other for 20 years." It's a sentiment that echoes through their conversation, and it's a big reason Mayday works as well as it does. While you don't need to be best friends to make a buddy movie, Reynolds argues you do need to feel love — for the genre, for the craft, and for your co-star. "Every movie that works is a love story on some level," he says. "I don't care if it's a romance or not. When they work, there's love baked into it somehow."
Reynolds knows a thing or two about buddy movies. From The Proposal with Sandra Bullock to The Hitman's Bodyguard with Samuel L. Jackson, and of course the massive Deadpool & Wolverine with Hugh Jackman, he's become the genre's modern master. "It's the best because you get to work with the best," he says. "I love that I get an audience of these people, and I get to be the audience with these people. And I think it's wonderful because each one brings out something completely different in their co-stars."
Branagh, who has directed and starred in everything from Shakespeare to Thor, chimes in: "One of the key things in Deadpool and Wolverine... is the you and the Hugh of it all. Just an obvious thing to say, but it's just that takes it to—" Reynolds interrupts, "And you can feel that these guys love each other." It's a mutual admiration that extends to their own partnership. Branagh recalls watching The Hitman's Bodyguard before Mayday came up and telling his wife, "That kind of acting..." — a sentence he leaves unfinished, but the implication is clear.
Their shared philosophy of acting as teamwork rather than personal glory is what makes Mayday more than just a fun throwback. It's a reminder that the best buddy movies are built on genuine affection, whether that's between the characters or the actors playing them. As Reynolds puts it, "When they work, there's love baked into it somehow." And in Mayday, that love is palpable.
For more on the film, check out our Mayday review, and see where it lands on our list of the greatest films about male friendship. Mayday is now streaming on Apple TV+, part of their fall 2026 slate.
