Actors Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington are some of the biggest names in Hollywood and they worked together 13 years ago on the spy thriller Safe House. Years later, Reynolds shared filming also featured a tense moment that made Washington lose it on set.
The spy thriller is currently available to stream on Netflix, but it won’t be there for long. The streaming platform will lose Safe House on Jan. 1, 2026, giving subscribers enough time to check it out. The movie didn’t have the best reception, but it found new success on streaming earlier this year.
David Espinosa directed Safe House, and he would reunite with Reynolds five years later on 2017’s Life. The action thriller had a script by David Guggenheim, and starred Washington and Reynolds in the leading roles.
Safe House follows rookie CIA agent Matt Weston, who has been eager to prove himself while cooling his heels at an inactive South African post. The official logline notes, “He gets the chance when Tobin Frost, a turncoat operative, is brought to Weston’s safe house for debriefing.”
The new assignment puts all his skills to use, as “soon after Frost’s arrival, mercenaries attack, and Weston and Frost barely escape with their lives. The two men must join forces and try to stay alive long enough to figure out who wants them dead.”
Aside from the duo, Safe House also starred Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Rubén Blades, Nora Arnezeder and Robert Patrick. Despite the massive star power, Safe House wasn’t an instant hit with the critics, who gave it mixed reviews, but acknowledged Washington and Reynolds’ performances.
The spy thriller has an underwhelming 52% rating from the critics out of 192 reviews, which led to a “rotten” score, as they called out the script and the editing of the action scenes. Audiences gave Safe House a positive score, but just barely, with a 63% approval score.
Safe House is considered one of Reynolds’ best non-Deadpool showings, and it also became a box-office success. The action thriller grossed $208 million worldwide against an $85 million budget, just on the threshold for a profit. A sequel was initially in the works, with Universal bringing back writer David Guggenheim to pen the screenplay, but it never happened.
Ryan Reynolds Recalled Making Denzel Washington Lose It on the Safe House Set
Jasin Boland/©Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Earlier this year, Ryan Reynolds recalled working with Denzel Washington, and admitted he nearly derailed the Oscar-winning actor’s big scene at the end. The Deadpool star recalled how his phone started ringing during a major scene, which interrupted Washington’s performance. Reynolds revealed no one knew it was his phone, and he played along.
“I’m really, really scared, because he’s Denzel Washington, and I’m me! I’m terrified. The great thing is [my] character’s terrified, so it’s no problem.” The actor also highlighted that Washington had only spoken “two words” to him while filming because of his method approach.
Reynolds added, “With this guy, with an emotional scene, you get it twice. You get it once, and then you get it twice. The second time, if you f— up, that’s on you, it’s not going to be on him, and he’s leaving, so you better get it!” The actor admitted he was scared to admit it was his phone, and continued to play along, and Washington had to do the scene three times.
Safe House leaves Netflix on Jan. 1, 2026.
A split on the poster for Safe House (2012) depicts Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) holding a gun on one side and a close-up of Tobin Frost’s (Denzel Washington) face on the other.Image via Universal Pictures
Release Date
February 7, 2012
Runtime
115 Minutes
Director
Daniel Espinosa
Writers
David Guggenheim
