Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have a date with the king on the latest season of their soccer-focused docuseries, “Welcome to Wrexham.”
The two actors, who purchased Welsh football club Wrexham AFC in 2020, speak about getting to interact with King Charles in a preview released Tuesday for the FX show.
“So the king of England called,” Reynolds deadpans in the video.
“We went to monarchy boot camp,” he quips. “It was like the military, except your pinky is always up.”
In one shot of the “boot camp,” the “Deadpool” actor jokes that he feels “like a serial killer” as his etiquette coach says that “everything starts with a first impression.”
Reynolds and McElhenney then practice a handshake technique for the king, which the coach describes as “the two pumps and release.”
The actors laugh (perhaps at the X-rated connotation of the statement), as the camera shows their perfect handshake form while greeting the king.
Reynolds and McElhenney welcomed Charles and Queen Camilla to their football club back in December.
“Welcome to Wrexham Season 2: Charles in Charge,” Reynolds tweeted at the time, alongside a photo of himself with the king.
Meanwhile, McElhenney tweeted a photo of the foursome and wrote: “You really have to watch Welcome to Wrexham for this to make sense. And even then, it still not might make sense.”
Reynolds had initially spoken with the “Mythic Quest” star about purchasing the world’s third-oldest professional soccer club during the coronavirus pandemic, before the two had even met in person.
In a 2021 interview with Men’s Health, McElhenney recalled asking his wife, fellow “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actor Kaitlin Olson, about the large undertaking of buying a club with Reynolds.
“I remember saying to Kaitlin, ‘Do you think it’s a good idea if I ask Ryan if he wants to be a partner?’” McElhenney told the outlet. “And she said, ‘Well, that depends on whether or not your ego can take sharing space with Ryan Reynolds.’”
“And the truth is,” he added, “my first thought was Ooh, you’re right.”
The second season of “Welcome to Wrexham” is set to debut next week.